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5 Foods that Keep You Thin

2011-07-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Take a look around any book store, and you'll find dozens of diet books lining the shelves. Despite their bright and cheerful covers, with their positive, upbeat claims, many of them are filled with information that promotes all the wrong messages.

"The word 'diet' is negative and implies people can go on and off them," said Jane Korsberg, a senior instructor in the department of nutrition at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Korsberg is one nutritionist who thinks it would be better to re-think the whole concept of dieting.

"'Diet foods' are confusing to many people," she explained. "What diet is the 'diet food' geared for? Is it low-calorie, low-fat, low-sodium, low-sugar, gluten-free, et cetera?"

Besides, many of the foods that specifically target dieters seem to rarely satisfy. Take those 100-calorie snack packs, for example, made to help people control calories. Those often don't even work, Korsberg says. After all, few people actually stop at only one pack.

You don't need fancy plans or complicated point systems to be thin. All you need to do is make smart food choices, watch your portion sizes and stay active.

"Learning to eat properly for a lifetime is more beneficial," Korsberg said. "The emphasis should be on choosing healthful foods every day and changing lifestyles for the better."

So instead of sticking to diet fare, fill up on nutritious, wholesome foods. And if you need some recommendations, you can start with these five options, which are among the many delicious foods that make a good addition to healthy eating while keeping you slender.

Apples

Apples are a good source of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber not only contributes to a healthy digestive system and reduced cholesterol, but it also benefits smart eaters by yielding no calories while keeping them satisfied.

And there's something else about the fruit that might help you feel full. A study in the journal "Appetite" found that when women added either three apples or three pears to their daily meals, they lost more weight than people who added three oat cookies to their diets -- even though the fruit and the cookies contained the exact same amount of dietary fiber.

Although the reason behind this finding may be a mystery, there is something to be said for the findings. According to Alan Aragon, a nutritionist and author of "Girth Control: The Science of Fat Loss & Muscle Gain," crunchy foods in particular can trick a person into feeling fuller. The act of chewing may send satiety signals to your body, he says, making you think you've eaten more than you really have and keeping hunger at bay.

Almonds

If you're looking for a tasty midday snack, a handful of almonds are a well-regarded option. A study in 2009 in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that women who ate nuts at least two times a week were more successful at keeping weight off than those who didn't eat this food.

One particular favorite among some nutritionists is almonds, says Aragon. One ounce of this food contains only 167 calories, plus it packs roughly 6 g of protein and 3 g of fiber, both nutrients that can make you feel full. Furthermore, like apples, almonds are crunchy and require a lot of chewing, so they, too, can make you feel like you've eaten more than you actually did and keep you fuller longer.

Salmon

If you're uncertain about fish, there's no need to fear. Seafood can be part of a healthy diet. And there's some evidence that the fat in foods such as salmon can boost satiety levels, says Aragon. For example, a study published in the "International Journal of Obesity" found that when dieters ate salmon a few times a week, they lost about two more pounds than those who didn't include seafood in their meals.

And in spite of the mention of salmon's fat content, the food is relatively low in calories. One 3-oz. serving has just 175 calories. Salmon is a good source of protein as well.

Eggs

There's no doubt that protein, like fiber, has impressive satiating powers. And while eggs seem to have a bad reputation in some circles, there can be no contesting their ability to help keep your weight in check.

Research has shown that eating eggs at breakfast can help you fight weight gain all day long. A study reported in 2008 in the "International Journal of Obesity" found that when dieters ate two eggs for breakfast for five days out of the week, they lost 65 percent more weight than dieters who consumed a bagel in the morning. Although protein is likely to fill you up whenever you eat it, some scientists suspect that having more in the morning can keep you feeling fuller all day long.

Tomatoes

It's true that most veggies make for great diet fare. Non-starchy vegetables in particular, such as carrots, celery and spinach, are filled with fiber. Like other foods high in fiber, they can help keep you feeling satiated.

Plus, they're pretty self-regulating, says Aragon. You can't really overeat with nonstarchy vegetables. After all, how many baby carrots can a person eat without needing to dunk them in some ranch dressing?

So while there are many veggies that can help you stay slim, tomatoes might be a particularly good option because they're so tasty. And, besides, with that whole a-tomato-is-a-vegetable-no-it's-a-fruit argument, you might have forgotten all about eating them. One cup of cooked, red tomatoes contains just 43 calories, but tastes just as delicious as any number of high-calorie foods.

And that's at least half the secret, finding foods that are both healthy and tasty. The good thing is, they do exist. Over time, you'll discover what wholesome, filling foods you prefer, expanding your choices while shrinking your waistline.

By: Kristin McGrath
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-foods-that-keep-you-thin-2507875/

Family Health: How to Help Your Children Stay Fit and Healthy

2011-07-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

By Gina Michelle Francis

As a parent, we all know the importance of providing our children with the best possible start in life. But that isn't something that is confined to possessions; giving them a healthy lifestyle that encourages them to stay healthy is of much greater importance. But how is it done? These 10 steps should give you some pointers as to how you can do something productive about your family's health.

1. If you're children can't name more than three different vegetables, yet have a thorough knowledge of the menu of most takeaway restaurants, you need to make a change. There's nothing wrong with a takeaway once in a while, but keep it as an occasional treat and avoid it becoming a habit.

2. Ready meals aren't much better, so it's best to avoid them. Instead, find the time to prepare home-cooked, healthy meals for your family. Take it in turns with your partner, if possible. And if you don't yet have the culinary skills, why not take a cooking class or ask your relatives for tips and advice.

3. That may also require you to find new recipes to help your little ones stay healthy. There are many books, magazines, TV programmes and online portals that offer healthy family recipes for you to try. By introducing your family to new, healthy foods, you can expand their diet but ensure it doesn't just include fast food.

4. With each meal, why not introduce them to a new vegetable? Many people grow up being dismissive of certain foods without ever having tried them. By instilling a passion in your children for good food and encouraging them to try before deciding, they should grow up with a healthy outlook on what they eat.

5. These days, children can get borderline obsessed with computers and video games, but it can get in the way of more healthy pursuits, like playing football or riding bikes. By limiting the time your children are allowed to play on these technological wonders, you may be empowering them to be fit and healthy.

6. Whatever you do, when your children are young, don't put a TV in their room. Not only does it create anti-social behaviour, but like computers it could be having a negative impact on their health.

7. If you're guilty of living a lifestyle that's far from healthy, you could be setting a very bad example. As the most significant role model in your children's life, it's important that you don't walk in from work, put the TV on and sit down for the rest of the evening. Stay active and your children might just follow.

8. Take part in healthy activities together and it could lead to the whole family getting healthier. Why not take a bat and ball to the park or head to the local tennis courts together? Or, you could invest in bikes for the entire family and head to the local forestry to explore your surroundings.

9. Open up their world to new sports and hobbies and see if something takes their fancy. There are so many interesting pursuits, from popular options such as football and cricket to karate and ballet.

10. If they do find a new hobby or sport, make sure you encourage them but don't get pushy. It's important that your children make their own decisions and do it because they take pleasure from it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6399229

How to Kickstart Monday Morning in Your Internet Business

2011-07-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

by Paul Barrs

Remember those days when we used to have to get up to go to work, and ever Monday morning following after a great weekend we'd struggle to pull that tired old body up from under the covers and into the office or the factory or wherever it was that someone else was paying you to be?

Are you still there (maybe)?

I remember those days and if I remember correctly I could accurately say "they sucked"! You know, it's been nearly 15 years since I've had to *do that* for someone else; it's what you would call "living the dream baby."

The thing is, whilst the problem may be different, for many of us Monday Mornings are still the same - we just don't start the week the way we want to.

So here's what I'm doing this Monday morning; from it, I hope that you will glean some ideas of you can connect better with your business (your "people") and build a better income for yourself.

I started the day off with some light exercise. I never get into it too heavy in the mornings simply because this old body ain't what it used to be - but I understand a fit body builds a fit mind. The better shape my body is in day by day the better shape my mind is in and the better decisions I can make, products I can create and so on. It's a great way to start every day.

Next I sit down in my "thinking chair" (my old comfy lounge recliner) and pull out a new copy of my custom weekly "to-do" list.

But now, sitting in my chair I review last weeks' checklist and see if anything needs to be carried over. Then slowly, between measured sips of my morning brew I start to design my action list for the coming 5 days.

At the top of my list is a place for "Consulting / Coaching Clients". I have special place for these people as I am working with them directly; I create action plans for them and they go and do. If I say I'm going to *do* something for them I sure as hell don't want to forget - so at the top of my action plan for consulting / coaching is **check follow up list **.

Here's the thing... I have a great client management program on my computer. It handles details on prospecting, follow ups, action plans record keeping and so on. But truth is, no matter how darn wonderful the program is, it doesn't do squat if I don't "turn it on" and open it up! First thing on my "list" each and every day is to OPEN my follow up action planner...

90% of all potential business that a business could earn is LOST because if you don't FOLLOW-UP!

... which then leads to seeking out new "potential" business prospects, or 'prospecting' as it's called in the sales business. Here's the thing, to be successful in the running of any business, you need to determine where your "bread and butter" comes from. This is the income that you generate that pays your bills, your wages, and your staff. It's the stuff that no matter what happens in the economy, you're still going to have to pay it if you want to "keep your doors open".

This is your bread and butter income.

For me, my bread and butter is local business. It's been that way for 8 years and I'm sure will continue to be that way for 8 or more years to come. Whilst I don't always "actively peruse" local business 'business', I ALWAYS keep my finger in the pot; which for me means each month I make contact with a couple of dozen local business people and offer them free advice on how to improve their websites. Many times, this comes back to me as a job and revenue earned.

Remember; right now I'm just writing my list. It's Monday morning and I'll spend and hour writing my list while planning the week to come in my mind.

Next up I'll look at how I can make new connections in the 'internet world'. This week I'll be looking to communicate with my JV partners. I don't have any particular promotions on, so my goal is to simple "connect" with some of them; nothing more. I'm just looking to build the friendships.

Next on my custom list is Communication. Now whilst it may seem similar to Connections, I see communication more as keeping in touch in a general way with "my people" - you, whoever you are reading this; with my affiliates, with my members. It's vitally important to any business to communicate with your people and hopefully have them communicate back with you. It's always a good idea to ASK.

For me, writing this right now (and posting it to my Website) is one of my communication tasks for the week. I want to publish at least 2 personal posts and share with you what's happening in my business.

The last two areas of my own custom list are Creation and Content.

These two can often go together but usually they will begin with the creation of a some product (be it a full seminar, a special report or brandible eBook), which is then followed by making content which is then published on one or more of my websites.

But all in all, everything works together. This week I will complete the creation of another special report. Once that is done, I will then communicate with my affiliates that a new brandable report is available for them to help them with promotions. If I wanted to (though I won't be this week), I could also create a mini-seminar or video series based on the content of the book and publish it to YouTube, or to my video blog...

... as a matter of fact, there's an idea... I was recently contact by a new JV partner who asked if I could create some content slides for him with which he would then create some custom videos for me in a joint venture share arrangement. I could EASILY create some slides based on the subject matter of the book I was talking about a moment ago -

Better go write that on to my list!

Then of course, once it's done I can then connect with my own JV partners and share the content with them. I could also communicate the message in another post....

Do you see how this works?

By the end of my first hour on Monday morning do you think I'm going to be suffering any "Monday Morning Blues"? Hell no! I'm pumped! I'm looking at my list and thinking, "OK, there's too much for me to do here, how much can I outsource?"

And the week begins.

You see, the thing is, the running of a successful business doesn't always involve "selling of product"; yes, you NEED a product to sell to generate income, but once that's up, the most important thing you can do is start communicating with people - talking to them - not trying to "sell" them.

What are you waiting for? Go to it!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6397959

How To Start a Home Business - 10 Tips

2011-04-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

1. Create a business plan

Don't be afraid to make plans. You may end up completely re-writing them as your business develops, but you should always have a roadmap. You can easily download a business plan template online to help kick-start the process.

2. Designate a workspace

Working from home can be a huge challenge with the distractions of daily life. It's important to designate a workspace that is quiet, efficient, and inspiring for you. Take time to plan the space. Find furniture and supplies to help make the most of your space. Create a system of organization that makes sense to you. Decorate your work area so that it is a place you enjoy being in.

3. Set a work schedule

It's so much easier to procrastinate when you work from home. Don't do it! Set a schedule and stick to it. This is your business, so don't be afraid to develop an offbeat schedule, if you need to. Work evenings, if that's easier. Give yourself Wednesdays and Saturdays off, rather than the traditional weekend. Whatever schedule you choose, be sure to hold yourself to it.

4. Use a calendar

So, you are the boss now. You have to be organized. Take the time to set daily, monthly, and even yearly goals for yourself. Always be aware of the task at hand, with an eye toward the tasks that are approaching. Using a calendar is the best way to ensure you will stay on track.

5. Develop your branding

Be aware that your business name and image will (and should) become synonymous with everything you do. A great business name and image will help draw people in, and brand recognition will bring them back for more. If you are not design-savvy, it is well worth the investment to find a pro graphic designer to help you create an artwork set. There are many independent creative professionals on Etsy.com who offer affordable rates and a unique design eye.

6. Blogging and Social Networking

Blogging and social networking are great ways to get the word out about your business. This can also help to build links for search engines to find you. Try to focus on updating 1 blog regularly and using 2-3 social networking sites to start. It's better to pay special attention to a few sites, rather than opening up a bunch of accounts and never using them. In addition, you should always remember that your post activity represents your business. Be polite, be professional, offer your original perspective, promote others and please don't spam us.

7. Be aware your business vs. personal finances

Registering your business as a sole proprietorship does not mean you shouldn't have a separate sense of your business and personal finances. Always have a clear understanding of living expenses when making plans for the business. There is no worse feeling than realizing you've spent your grocery money on office supplies or vice versa. Consider using computer finance software such as Quicken Home & Business, so that you always have a clear picture of your financial situation.

8. Find cost efficient ways to advertise

You don't have to spend $1,000's on an advertising campaign. Determine who your target market is and go where they are. Wise use of blogging, social networking sites, forums and chat rooms will take you a long way. When it's time to spend money, buy a printer so you can create your own business cards and targeted fliers. Offer discounts on your goods in exchange for links, bulk orders, or repeat customers. Create custom button pins, magnets, stickers to give away as promotional gifts. Use that business ingenuity to get the word out about your business without spending an arm and a leg.

9. Pay yourself

In the age of Wal-Mart and Target, people are used to cheap goods for cheap prices. New business owners may be tempted to under value their products and services to keep up with Target prices. Don't do it! Everyone deserves to get paid for the work they do. To price your products, just calculate time plus labor. It's that simple.

10. Accept help

Running a home business can be overwhelming, but you don't have to do it completely on your own. It's ok to ask for help when you need it. Whether it's a family member, a friend, or if you have to put up a flier at the local post office to seek an extra pair of hands, allow yourself to get the help needed. Finding menial tasks that someone else can do will allow you more time for creating advanced strategies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6173016

How To Start A Scrap Metal Recycling Company

2011-04-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

The scrap metal business is booming even in this sluggish economy. If you are considering going into this business, there are three priorities that you must look at first.

1. Where will the accumulated metal be stored?

2. How will you ensure the holding areas safety?

3. How will you get your metal?

You need the answers to these three questions solved before beginning the business. The name is not as important as the job itself but just so you know these types of businesses are known by many different names. You may call it recycling, scrap yard, and waste metal recycling, wrecking yard and many others.

No matter what you choose to call yours there are some basics that you need to follow. It is a hand on type of business if getting dirty leaves you squeamish this is not for you. You will have to handle the product no matter its condition. You should have all the safety procedures in place before you start scrapping.

Now that you have all of that taken care of it is time to concentrate on how you are going to get the scrape for recycling. Scrap metal is collected from old automobiles, buildings, any surplus metal can be recycled. This is one thing that is in great demand because for manufacturers it is a cheaper source of metal than buying it pure from the ore.

The collection process can be of several types. A lot of people just want to get rid of what they see as useless junk. You can have a business that allows people to drop off their old metal objects for free. Or pay a small fee for the items. You can get items for free if you offer a hauling service as a part of your business. You can also go on salvage runs yourself. Either way you spend very little in a business that can mean huge profits.

The collection process can be of several types. A lot of people just want to get rid of what they see as useless junk. You can have a business that allows people to drop off their old metal objects for free. Or pay a small fee for the items. You can get items for free if you offer a hauling service as a part of your business. You can also go on salvage runs yourself. Either way you spend very little in a business that can mean huge profits.

Some businesses, like junkyards, resell car parts. Some pull and separate the parts for the customers but a lot of them now are using the self pull method. They will allow you to enter browse and remove the part yourself. This is done with a signed waiver of liability. Scrap metal is sold by weight not by the piece. This is important to know when starting your own business. Weight doesn't leave room for error.

These are the basics of starting a scrap business. As long as you pay strict attention to the possibility for physical injury your business should thrive. You must also be aware that some of the junk that comes in may be caustic or even toxic have this type of gear available and first aid for any contingency.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6204957

Insurable and Non-Insurable Risks

2011-04-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

When we talk of insurance, we are referring to risks in all forms. Hence, having for an insurance policy is just a way of sharing our risks with other people with similar risks. However, while some risks can be insured (i.e. insurable risks), some cannot be insured according to their nature (i.e. non-insurable risks).

Insurable Risks

Insurable risks are the type of risks in which the insurer makes provision for or insures against because it is possible to collect, calculate and estimate the likely future losses. Insurable risks have previous statistics which are used as a basis for estimating the premium. It holds out the prospect of loss but not gain. The risks can be forecast and measured e.g. motor insurance, marine insurance, life insurance etc.

This type of risk is the one in which the chance of occurrence can be deduced, from the available information on the frequency of similar past occurrence. Examples of what an insurable risk is as explained:

Example1: The probability (or chance) that a certain vehicle will be involved in an accident in year 2011 (out of the total vehicle insured that year 2011) can be determined from the number of vehicles that were involved in accidents in each of some previous years (out of the total vehicle insured those years).

Example2: The probability (or chance) that a man (or woman) of a certain age will die in the ensuring year can be estimated by the fraction of people of that age that died in each of some previous years.

Non-insurable Risks

Non-insurable risks are type of risks which the insurer is not ready to insure against simply because the likely future losses cannot be estimated and calculated. It holds the prospect of gain as well as loss. The risk cannot be forecast and measured.

Example1: The chance that the demand for a commodity will fall next year due to a change in consumers' taste will be difficult to estimate as previous statistics needed for it may not be available.

Example 2: The chance that a present production technique will become obsolete or out-of-date by next year as a result of technological advancement.

Other examples of non-insurable risks are:

1. Acts of God: All risks involving natural disasters referred to as acts of God such as

a. Earthquake

b. War

c. Flood

It should be noted that any building, property or life insured but lost during an occurrence of any act of God (listed above) cannot be compensated by an insurer. Also, this non-insurability is being extended to those in connection with radioactive contamination.

2. Gambling: You cannot insure your chances of losing a gambling game.

3. Loss of profit through competition: You cannot insure your chances of winning or losing in a competition.

4. Launching of new product: A manufacturer launching a new product cannot insure the chances of acceptability of the new product since it has not been market-tested.

5. Loss incurred as a result of bad/inefficient management: The ability to successfully manage an organization depends on many factors and the profit/loss depends on the judicious utilization of these factors, one of which is efficient management capability. The expected loss in an organization as a result of inefficiency cannot be insured.

6. Poor location of a business: A person situating a business in a poor location must know that the probability of its success is slim. Insuring such business is a sure way of duping an insurer.

7. Loss of profit as a result of fall in demand: The demand for any product varies with time and other factors. An insurer will never insure based on expected loss due to decrease in demand.

8. Speculation: This is the engagement in a venture offering the chance of considerable gain but the possibility of loss. A typical example is the action or practice of investing in stocks, property, etc., in the hope of profit from a rise or fall in market value but with the possibility of a loss. This cannot be insured because it is considered as a non-insurable risk.

9. Opening of a new shop/office: The opening of a new shop is considered a non-insurable risk. You don't know what to expect in the operation of the new shop; it is illogical for an insurer to accept in insuring a new shop for you.

10. Change in fashion: Fashion is a trend which cannot be predicted. Any expected change in fashion cannot be insured. A fashion house cannot be insured because the components of the fashion house may become outdated at any point in time.

11. Motoring offenses: You cannot obtain an insurance policy against expected fines for offenses committed while on wheels.

However, it should be noted that there is no clear distinction between insurable and non-insurable risks. Theoretically, an insurance company should be ready to insure anything if a sufficiently high premium would be paid. Nevertheless, the distinction is useful for practical purposes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6188560

Asset Allocation Vs Diversification

2010-10-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Astute investors realize the appeal of finding investment options that do not move in step with one another. Over time, we expect the stock market to increase in value, albeit with short-term fluctuations. Ideally, it would be great to identify an investment that increased in value when stocks faltered which would smooth out the volatility in a portfolio.

Traditionally, there are several asset categories that have this type of relationship: stocks and bonds, US stocks and international stocks, large cap stocks and small cap stocks, etc. Over time, the strength of the correlations between these asset classes has varied. To avoid having all your investment eggs in one basket, it is important to have appropriate asset allocation and diversification strategies, and to understand the difference between the two.

Asset allocation is the most basic and important component of investing. An asset allocation is simply the percentage of your portfolio invested in stocks, bonds, and cash. Your asset allocation is the primary determinate of how risky your investment portfolio is. Stocks are the most aggressive investment, bonds are a middle-of-the-road option, and cash is the safest way to invest your money. Of course, the higher the risk of your portfolio, the higher the return you should expect.

Asset allocation, not market timing or asset selection, will account for approximately 92% of your investment return. An appropriate allocation that matches your risk tolerance will help you obtain the rate of return necessary to achieve your investment goals while limiting volatility so you can sleep at night.

A well-devised asset allocation does not ensure you are appropriately diversified, however. For example, if you have determined that you should have 60% of your investments in stocks, you shouldn't invest that full 60% in one stock. In fact, you shouldn't have the bulk of your investments in the same asset category (large cap, mid cap, small cap, international, growth, or value).

To be adequately diversified you should have representation in each of the major asset categories. Further, you should own at least 50 stocks in each category. (Owning a large amount of your employer's stock in your 401k is a common way of breaking this rule.) This steps will prevent your portfolio from plummeting due to the performance of one under-performing stock.

Diversification applies not only to stocks, but also to the bond side of your portfolio. Many people invest solely in U.S. corporate bonds, but they should be rounding out their portfolio and reducing risk by also investing in U.S. Government bonds and international bonds.

If done properly, determining an asset allocation that is right for you will help ensure your portfolio is correctly positioned on the risk-return continuum. Diversification is an additional step that spreads your investment bets across various asset classes to prevent your entire portfolio from suffering losses all at once. Incorporating both strategies will lessen the volatility in your portfolio and increase your chances of reaching your investment goals.

by Lon Jefferies

RI economy relies on cooperatives: President

2010-07-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono underlined on Thursday the government’s commitment to developing cooperatives as the backbone of national economy.

Apart from its historical role, cooperative has proved it could bring welfare to people in the country and survive the Asian crisis in late 1990s, Yudhoyono said during a commemoration of the Cooperative Day at the Brawijaya military command square in Surabaya.

“Therefore, without doubt cooperative and small and middle-scale enterprises will continue growing in the coming years. I will be with you in developing cooperative,” Yudhoyono said.

The President said he believed cooperatives would help the government eradicate poverty.

“Poverty and unemployment rates will quickly decline as long as cooperatives and small and middle-scale enterprises move forward,” he said.

To mark the 63rd anniversary of cooperative movement, the President presented awards to Bangka Belitung and East Java provinces, Kupang cit and several cooperatives for their contribution to the national cooperative movement.

Best Acne Treatment - 4 Points to Note When Considering an Acne Treatment That Works

2010-03-27T01:19:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of options to choose from to determine which works best in treating ones acne problems. A lot of products in all forms are now out in the market claiming that what they have is the answer to all acne related issues. But what is really the best acne treatment? What should it contain for it to work best with everyone's acne problems? Is there really one product out there that can claim that it is best and only solution?

Actually, there are products available. It is then dependent on the facial constitution. Not all faces have the same characteristics. While product A is the best for 1,000 people, it doesn't mean that it really is the best. We have to look for what's in the product and choose from there. Here are the important things you have to consider in choosing the best acne treatment for you.

1. Though Benzoyl Peroxide is known to be the most effective ingredient to kill and wipe out acne because of its strong and potent anti bacterial content, it has its drawback. After constant application Benzoyl Peroxide makes the skin red and sometimes can irritate it. Benzoyl Peroxide is very potent so in turn it may be a little too harsh on the skin especially when concentrated. Make sure that you by a lotion or a cream that only has 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide. It is not as strong and potent as the 5% but still as effective.

2. Check on the label and it should also have Glycolic Acid, an Alpha Hrydroxy Acid or AHA which is known to exfoliate the skin getting rid of dead skin cells. The presence of Glycolic Acid paves the way for the skin to regenerate cells.

3. It should be mild. Avoid those that come with scents as it may be too harsh for the skin. Keep it simple. You don't need a fresh perfume scent to get rid of acne.

4. Make sure that it is hypoallergenic. Ask your dermatologist for an opinion. He or she will definitely have something that's best for you to use.

By Casey Gentles, ezinearticles.com

Creating Your First Niche Website

2010-03-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Selling anything online starts with an idea.

A website is a way by which you are able to communicate information online. The first question you have to ask yourself is: what information should you share?

Of course, you would want a subject you know. A subject that is closer to home, so to speak. You want a topic that you are perfectly familiar with. You will be able to share more about such a subject because of former experiences, unbridled passion, or overflowing interests. You'll be able to save up on research time that may be required in preparing the conveyance of information about the said topic. Spend a day or two finding an idea. If you still have no clue, here are some questions you can answer that might help:

1. Do you have some hobbies that you are very familiar with?

2. Have you visited a few captivating places that made you experience the territory as well as the culture they possess?

3. Where would you rather be right now? How familiar are you with that place?

4. Have you had any work experience that made you acquire some astonishing skills that not a lot of people know about?

5. Are you a fan of any particular sport? Do you know the rules, the mechanics, and the personalities involved with such a sport by heart?

6. Do you have a especial area of interest being served by a variety of products? Are you familiar and are you passionate about these products? Do you think you could write some comparative reviews about them?

7. Do you enjoy doing a peculiar activity, either alone or with friends?

8. There are times when you just don't want to work, right? During these times, you wish you were doing something else. What are these things you'd rather do whenever work seems so boring?

9. What are you good at? Giving advice to people, perhaps? If so, what kind of advice?

10. Is there something you've always wanted to learn? Though you may not be familiar with this subject right now, your desire to be well acquainted with it can incite you throughout the coming months.

Like I said spend a day or two thinking about this and brainstorming an idea that you would love to pursue. Remember, you must have a certain lovingness for this idea. This will prompt you to come up with updates for your website later on. Don't hesitate to consult with family and friends and look for their help. Two or more heads are still better than one, right? Then, make a list of the ideas that come to mind. The longer the list is, the better your opportunities are of coming up with a very fruitful subject for your moneymaking website.

Now, let's imagine that one of your ideas is about the general subject of computers. You are a computer whiz, for example, and you desire to share a lot of information about how computers work and how to fix some common problems with them. The question you should ask yourself is this: is such an idea profitable?

How exactly do you determine the profitability of an idea? With the example of "computers" at hand, run a Google search and have a look at the amount of available web pages catering to the very same subject. You'd have to compete with each and every web page to get to the first page of the search engine results. So, the trick lies in two approaches:

1. Finding a subject that has little competition; or

2. Pinning down your selected subject into a extremely particular sub-topic that your competition oftentimes disregards.

These two approaches all mean the same thing, however; that is, you have to find your own niche. A niche is a highly segmented portion of a given market that is serviced by few entities. Another example: The general subject of "Golf" may not be profitable fast but the sub-topic of "Golf Clubs" may have a lot of moneymaking potential. And if such a sub-topic is further cropped to, say, "Mizuno Golf Clubs" you would have a fantastic niche that could become a wonderful profit stream for many years.

There are no ifs and buts about it. You have to this to find a niche. Think of ideas, research them and narrow them down to targeted sub-topics. Finally, come up with a niche that people will want to be informed about without that many websites providing such information.

So, do your research, use keyword search engine tools like the free Word Tracker engine. if you do that using the example of "computers" you'll find out that "dell computers" and "laptop computers" are among the top 5 most profitable search phrases. If you want to stick with the topic of computers, these two sub-topics could be your starting point into creating your first Niche website.

These search phrases will also be your keywords. Keywords are very, very, very important for the success of your website. Internet users will use these keywords whenever they search for information on the matter. Once the keywords are used in search engines, the search engines will dispatch their spiders to look for indexed websites that contain the said keywords. If your website has the same exact keywords, then you'll have great chances of appearing prominently in the search engine results pages. So, the trick is in finding a profitable niche idea. It all starts from there then proceed to building your website.

By Daniel Cortes, ezinearticles.com

Software For Piano Teachers - Modern Teaching Tools

2010-03-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

Most piano teachers are motivated enough to bring out the best in them to reach out to different kinds of learners. In their efforts and endeavors in pursuing a better career plan, they tend to engage and invest into lots of training, workshops and seminars towards professional growth and academic excellence. Some of these innovations in music education are those reliable and effective software for piano teachers, which are made readily available over the web.

Modern music teaching resources and tools are found with just a very few clicks yet have been proven reliable and effective in motivating students of various ages, lifestyles and cultures. Such inclusion of technology into teaching music has been highly recommended and advisable by many music educators and practitioners because of the kind of drive, motivation and enthusiasm it can give to a wide array of students.

This endeavor may seem expensive, risk-taking and crucial; yet, once it is properly and accordingly administered to the right recipients by the right facilitator or educator, such outcome would surely create a more lasting effect - leaving a great impact to the minds of the learners themselves. Software for piano teachers may include the following tools and materials that can highly motivate and inspire learners to understand, enjoy and love music.

• Scheduling software allows the user or the subscriber to automatically update your school calendar of activities, reschedule postponed or cancelled music classes, send you corresponding updates and reminders on a regular basis. This lessens such inevitable technicalities and other errors that can hinder such pursuance of a scheduled meeting, music session, class or activity.

• Multimedia tool works best in inclusion and integration such technology in the learning process. It also suggests such innovative, creative and effective music teaching strategies that you can use in the music classroom - making you more prepared and equipped in your everyday ventures and activities.

• Time management tool gives you the opportunity to save time and use it wisely and accordingly - spending much of it to important things as you extend less quality time to not so essential things. With this, you can absolutely handle workloads and tasks effectively and efficiently without getting pressured, stressed out and exhausted at work.

• Billing tools allow the users to track expenses, finances and other financial matters without putting anything at risks. It monitors, screens and checks accounting and billing issues without putting the finances of the music studio at risks.

• Free website administrator tool allows you to create your own website which can promote or advertise the services offered by the academic institution or studio. This also provides you some options and alternatives in terms of multiple templates, layout designs and other necessary tools in creating and maintaining the website.

• Auto-calendar tool minimizes your burden and headache on paper works and posts as well as other reminders. This may also include a comprehensive list of events, activities and other occurrences in the music studio.

So, with all these music or piano teaching resources and tools, most piano teachers out there can go beyond what they can only wish and imagine. With a very promising, reliable and practical innovation we have today in a form of software for piano teachers, most music educators can now take their teaching career and experience to the next level. Enjoy!

By Earl Marsden

Simplifying Your Life

2010-03-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

In a rushed world, most people crave anything that could help them simplify their life. It can seem like there are just too many things to get done in the day. Although it is easy to blame this problem on having too many responsibilities, the fact is that many people needlessly complicate their own lives.

If you want to simplify your life, the first step is to take some time to think about what is most important to you. Many people spend a lot of time each day doing things that they think are important to other people.

In fact, if you recognize yourself in that statement, it could also be true that you believe these things are important to yourself as well. However, when most people stop and think about their daily activities, they realize that a lot of time is wasted on unimportant things. It's actually amazing how much time can be spent each day on things that really don't matter.

When simplifying your life, it is important to realize that it is okay to tell somebody no. Many times people ignore their gut feelings, and agree to do things even though they know deep down inside they don't have enough time. This can cause a lot of personal stress which could be avoided simply by saying no. It's also okay to say "no" to yourself.

In fact, if you have a personal to-list, there might be things on it that have been around for days, weeks or even months. In many cases, if you have been able to put them off for that long, they probably aren't important at all. Simply crossing them off your list as unnecessary can automatically give you more time to devote to what really does matter.

Another way to simplify your life is to set short-term and long-term goals and dedicate your time to achieving them. This could involve menial tasks like organizing your room or more advanced things like getting a promotion. If you boil down these goals into a few basic steps, you can surely make your life a bit simpler.

Most people waste a lot of time each day looking for things that they have misplaced. Clutter can cause a great deal of stress, so if you are striving for simplification, clean things up. Not only will you feel less stressed, but you will also get things done faster as a result, which can greatly simplify your life.

By Danielle Freeman, ezinearticles.com

Finding Golf Instruction For Your Game

2010-03-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

Any good golfer knows just how vital it is finding golf instruction for your game. There are many ways that you can get great help for your game. Some elect to go with a golf school, while others will go with more personal care with a private instructor. Whatever route you choose to go, you will be getting great information and overall help with your game. Finding which method of instruction is best for you will be determined by how you feel about both scenarios. Some people are shy and will not want to be in a class like setting. Others will thrive off this and eagerly accept the challenge.

Private Lessons

Finding golf instruction for your game means that you are looking for help in areas that you know could be improved. The type of help that you receive however will depend on what exactly you are looking for. A great way for you to get help with your game is to look into private lessons. This can be done with a golf instructor or you can speak with the course pro. The local course pro might actually be willing to offer you lessons and you can be sure that you will be getting some quality advice. If you decide that you are going to go with a dedicated golf instructor, you will have their undivided attention. This will offer you the best opportunity to gain the experience an understanding of the game.

Golf Schools

Finding golf instruction for your game could be as simple as actually enrolling in a quality golf school. You can find good golf schools just about anywhere today, as the sport has really taken off among crowds of all ages. Some of the local schools in your area are quite cheap. You can have great lessons for a reasonable cost and this is what is going to get your game over the hump. Golf schools are easy to find over the Internet and you can find many of them in your local telephone directory.

Again you can also get private lessons even though you elect to go with a golf school to help you with your defaults in your game. Finding golf instruction for your game is the best way to your game to improve, as it will also teach you proper preparation and practice techniques.

Knowing What You Need

There is a very good possibility that you will know what you need when you are finding golf instruction for your game. This however does not mean that you cannot learn a thing or two when you are there. You can actually gain much needed advice when you are honing your skills with an instructor.

Tips and skill improvements will come easy if you have someone that has the time to show you the right way of doing things on the course. Either way you slice it, finding golf instruction for your game, is the best way to bring your score card to a reasonable level.

Cover Letter For Resumes - How to Avoid the Filing Cabinet

2010-03-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

How to put together a killer cover letter for resumes, has been on my resume, lately. I went job hunting for a few months, a year or so ago. The reason I say its been on my resume so to speak, is that I ended up helping my siblings with their resume and cover letters. I know what a pain it can be to be looking for a job and I wanted to help them with what I picked up.

Myself, I didn't want to settle for just any job. I know the financial strain of job hunting and I didn't want to have to move back home. Yet I didn't really want to just take any other job. So I dove right in and researched and picked up information from where ever I could find it to open up my options.

I picked up many good points from programs here and there. The best was that custom is always better. I tried the generic resume and cover letter routine and although I did get calls, I seldom shined. You know the waiting area, with another five or six applicants can seem really long when there's only one spot to fill. Here's a little of what I did to separate myself from the group.

On the cover letter for my resumes, I made sure to address the person hiring or interviewing by name. This shows you've done some work. I avoided generic, weird phrases that very few individuals use. Those are a dead give away that you just copied and pasted. Of course no grammar or spelling mistakes.

I used to read over some of the filed resumes and cover letters at a previous job and for some reason, my manager always opted for new applicants. I guess that says a lot, without saying much.

The cover letter for resumes I submitted focused its attention on the knowledge I had of the company and how I saw myself contributing to the organization. I tried to put across my passion for the field they were in without making it to long.

For a moment I was tempted to use one of those, find a job services that you hear about. But after reading a short story about the experience a user had, that paid close to fifteen thousand dollars to have a resume and cover letter distributed to thousands of employers, with no results. I opted to go at it myself. After all, I didn't have fifteen thousand to invest in getting another job. Holding a fulfilling job in my chosen career was very important for me and I figured that nothing was going to be better than face to face.

In my experience, a good cover letter has made a difference between landing the interview and not. That's the first step, right? I catch the reader with the knowledge I have of their organization and a few other key tips I learned to incorporate into my letter. I've helped my sister and brothers with their letter and they've also landed the jobs.

By Casey Alexander, ezinearticles.com

Kesabaran itu tidak ada batas nya....

2010-03-02T01:01:00.000-08:00

Pernahkah saudara mendengar kata-kata "..telah habis kesabaranku!" atau " sabar itu ada batasnya..."
Ternyata, sesungguhnya sabar itu tidak ada batasnya, dia tetap diperlukan sebagai penolong dimana pun dan sampai kapanpun.
Terlebih lagi bagi kita orang tua kepada anak-anak kita dan kita sebagai anak kepada orang tua..

Mungkin clip video berikut ikut menggugah kita semua bahwa, sabar dan kasih sayang itu tidak pernah ada batasnya, dan akan mengalir sampai kapanpun.... lebih-lebih kita sebagai anak dari orang tua kita dan kita sebagai orang tua terhadap anak kita....

How to Feel Motivated

2010-01-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

Ever had the feeling of waking up feeling lousy? A voice in your head is telling you not to do any work that day. It's telling you that it is alright to rest that day. Then you don't feel like doing anything that day, you rested.

There is nothing wrong with it. Really, it is alright to rest a little when the body needs it. The thing is if this is your style of operation, this is called ECY - EMOTION CONTROLS YOU. Your emotion gets you to move in a certain way. Most of the time, non-successful people operate in this mode.

When non-successful people feels moody, they stop taking action that can bring them towards success. When things get tough, they feel struggle, they give up on success.

There is a common behaviour of non-successful people. Waking up in the morning feeling lousy, they called for sick leave, not wanting to work, not wanting to pursue success. Their behaviour is easily predicted because of their emotion.

Successful people have a opposite mode of operation. Theirs is YCE - YOU CONTROL EMOTION. Successful people have struggles too. They too were knocked down flat to the ground, but they behave differently. They have emotions too, but they do not allow that emotion to control their action. They are able to control that emotion, turn that emotion around so that it works for them.

Some successful people faces trouble waking up in the morning too. They do feel lousy at times, but they are able to switch this negative emotion into a positive one very quickly and move on.

Why there's a need to turn that emotion around?

Simply because EMOTIONS DRIVES MOTION. Your emotion determines your action and behaviour. If you feel upset about someone, you will not treat him too well, wouldn't you?

And how do we turn that emotion around? Very simple - by our thoughts. THOUGHTS DETERMINES EMOTION.

Think about your first love now. How do you feel now? Of course you can feel anything. But it comes from that thought of your first love.

Non-successful people struggles to take action because they first think of negative outcomes or thoughts. Then they feel negative emotions, therefore resulting in no action at all.

If someone wake up in the morning feeling lousy, and having the thought that he's so tired, he doesn't get enough rest, most likely he will continue his sleep.

On the other hand, same person wake up one morning feeling lousy, having the thought that he's tired, he doesn't get enough rest. He quickly thought of the tasks he needs to complete, the success he wants to achieve, he'll probably kick himself out of bed.

It all start from the THOUGHT. With that thought, you can control your emotion instead of letting your emotion controls you. As the old saying, "you become what you think". If you want to feel motivated, think motivated.

By Lee Joe
ezinearticles.com

How Do I Choose the Right Insurance For Me?

2010-01-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

Insurance is no doubt, one of the biggest investments you make. It is important to take an insurance cover because it is the only form of security in our insecure lives. We need to make sure that our health, our lives and our valuables are well-covered against unforeseen risk. Make sure that you choose the right insurance company that takes care of your needs, and do not go by gimmicks that the insurance company may put forth.

Here is how you can zero in for the right insurance deal:

1. Check out insurance quotes online: If you go to an insurance company's website, you are sure to be lured by interesting features, benefits that the company may portray in bold fonts. However, there are certain disclaimers and conditions that may not be highlighted. For instance, some insurance companies may have a surrender value that you can get if you stop the insurance in a stipulated period of time. So, it is better to have an independent approach towards finding the best insurance for you by checking online insurance quotes, through an independent website

2. Find out the premium: Find out how much you need to pay premium for a particular insurance. For instance, term insurance in life insurance policy has the lowest premium while 'whole life insurance' has higher premiums to be paid. So factor in the premium that you have to pay, and the manner in which you have to pay: monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly

3. Find out benefits associated with insurance: Find out if the life insurance or health insurance that you take covers aspects like traveling as well. If it does, you do not need to take a separate travel insurance

4. Find out the claims procedure: Find out exactly how the claims process takes place. You may do well speaking to people who have had their claims honored to know if the process of getting the money was simple enough. The insurance company should also have a safe redressal system so that all your grievances can be answered easily. Though national insurance policies give you the assurance that your money is safe, there is a question of redtapism, in certain cases

5. Use online calculators: Make use of online calculators to find out how much you money you stand to receive in case the term period expires. Do not go by the astronomical figures that insurance companies may give. Use the online calculator given on the website to make your own deductions.

6. Do not say yes to the insurance agent quickly: Though this depends on how good you are at understanding nuances of insurance it is always better to do your own independent research before committing to an insurance company. Find out all you need to know about the company, its stint in the insurance field, the financial position of the company and the goodwill it enjoys

7. Free look-out periods: Find out if your insurance company is able to furnish you with a free look out period(usually for a month) so that you are able to gauge how good the insurance is before making a decision.

By Arunraj V.S.
ezinearticles.com

The Key to Overcoming Your Obstacles

2010-01-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

Obstacles are a part of life and we all experience them whilst trying to pursue our dreams and goals. Perhaps you are finding it hard to lose weight or find the job you want and feel like giving up, thinking you have to give up your plans. The obstacles ahead of you seem insurmountable - the job market is very competitive, the wintry days stop you exercising outside, you can't afford to buy "healthy" food. These circumstances may, at first, to be out of your control and stop you from reaching your goals (after all you have no control over the job market or the seasons) but the biggest obstacle of all is, in fact, YOU.

You see, it is our self-limiting beliefs - our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves and our capabilities - that are the greatest obstacles to achieving our ambitions. These beliefs can seriously block you and stop you from even attempting your goals in the first place. Self-limiting beliefs will eat away at your confidence and self esteem, it can cause you to build distorted views of your previous successes and experiences, down-playing your talents and, therefore, jeopardizing yourself when you face your next goal.

These limitations you falsely believe you possess can become ingrained and follow you through life if you do not try to overcome them. This is the only way you can move forward confidently and with assurance. You do not want your self-limiting beliefs to become like a personal folklore whereby you simply accept them as true without even realising what you are doing and never even questioning their existence.

Although it is true that we do not have control over all circumstances in life, such as job losses, financial crises or natural disasters, we do have control over how we react to the circumstances in our life and how we deal with them. This reaction is based on the way we think. If you tell yourself repeatedly that you can't do something then you will certainly prove yourself right. Our thoughts about ourselves form our beliefs about ourselves, so in order to remove the obstacles in your life you need to start with your thoughts.

Your primary obstacles to success all begin and end with your mind. If you see yourself as one of life's victims you will begin to act as a victim, believing you cannot achieve anything or have any control over your life. It keeps you stuck. As these thoughts and beliefs are your obstacles you need to change the way you think, replacing the negative thoughts and beliefs with positive, self-affirming messages. This takes some practice as limiting beliefs can become such a habit that we are not even consciously aware we are thinking such thoughts. So, firstly you have "listen in" for any negativity and then instantly replace that negativity with positivity. You have full control here which in itself is a very affirming, positive thought. No one else can control your thoughts. Replacing your thoughts can take a little time and persistence but you will soon notice an increase in your confidence. And increased confidence will help to melt all those obstacles away.

Take comfort in the fact that you have full control in overcoming your obstacles and it is something that you can work on and change right now. You do not need to spend another day being ruled by false self-limiting beliefs and allowing them to be obstacles to fulfilling your dreams.

By Kristin Hutchings
ezinearticles.com

Learn About Your Asthma Allergies

2010-01-15T16:18:00.000-08:00

Asthma is a medical condition that is triggered off by allergic reactions, these cause can be anything room a simple piece of dust or a reaction from an animal such as a cat or dog. With so many particles that are airborne around your home it's vital that any asthma suffer finds what triggers of their condition and eliminate that cause.

Some reactions can last for only a short period of time, while other can last longer causing more discomfort to the suffer. Medication is taken in most cases but prevention is better than any medication available and you should take steps to understand what and when your asthma is triggered off.

Triggers of asthma can be anything from furniture being polished, changing bed covers deodorants and perfume are just some of the elements that will set you condition off. You really don't want to go and find out what sets your asthma off but when you do have an attack sit back after you've recovered and find out what was going on in the environment around you at that time which then can aid you in stopping another attack.

Suffers would love to live in a bubble, safe for these allergens but that just wont happen so learning about our bodies is the one and only real way to combat this problem.

The best way to fight asthma is to look around the home, no cats or dogs because this is just one of the main cause, I would advise you to have the least amount of carpeted surfaces and wooden or vinyl floors are better and wont require vacuuming all the time, blinds are the next factor and can be wiped clean with a wet cloth and are better than curtains and at all cost never allow anyone to smoke in your home. These are just some of the steps you can take to living a better life with your asthma.

By Steve Shillingford
ezinearticles.com

Working Women

2010-01-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

When I was little, I really didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. At one point, I thought I would work in a bank because that's where the money was. After undergraduate, I just knew that I wanted to be done with school and start working. Who knew that I would end up going to business school for another two years and get my MBA.

While there, I joined an organization called NAWMBA - National Association of Women MBA's and it was during one of the events that the topic of work life balance came up. It is a very interesting topic because its honestly a lot harder to be a woman in the corporate world and try to balance work and your personal life - kids, family, etc. Many of the speakers spoke about how different it was to be a woman in a man's working world. Men get praised if they leave work early to attend their kids' games or recitals. Women, on the other hand, are looked down upon. Men who are vocal are seen as aggresive while women are called witches, drama queens, etc. Unfortunately, this double standard has been around for as long as we've existed.

I think that things are slowly progressing for women in the work force. You still need to work a bit harder just to stay in the game. But at the same time, there are different expectations for working mothers than there are for working fathers. Women lose a bit of credability when they have kids and have to work harder to show thier commitment to the job. It is totally different for men. Here are a few tips for working women who are having trouble balancing their work and home lives:

* First and foremost, don't feel like you have to conquer the world and do everything (both at work and at home)
* Divide and conquer - communicate with your co-workers (and partner) to ensure that everyone is doing thier fair share of the work
* Communication is key. Keep lines of communciaton open - talk to your supervisors, colleagues and subordinates to ensure that everyone knows exactly what is going on.
* When you are at work, focus on your job. When you are at home, focus on your family. There is no point in stressing out about something that happened in the office when you are home.
* Find a good child care/baby sitting situation so that you feel at ease when dropping your kids off - consider a good monitoring system if someone comes to your home to babysit
* Even though you would like to be a super parent 24/7, sometimes you just need a break. Schedule some time away from the kids with your partner or a night out with the girls.
* Work and Family are a huge part of your life, but it shouldn't be your entire life.

It is a different and tougher battle for women in the workforce, but it is not hopeless or impossible. Everyone needs balance in their lives.

Rachel Quach
LiveLine
Affordable & Easy to Use Home Surveillance System
Monitor your kids/nannies from any computer
ezinearticles.com

Using a Mobile Phone Whilst Driving - Would You?

2010-01-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Although there have been huge awareness campaigns surrounding it, fines imposed for doing it and news stories about the fall out from it, there are still a large number of drivers using their mobile phones while they are operating a vehicle.

We know the risks and repercussions, but would you still do it?

Well a recent study, suggests that a large number of us do. A recent study of 14,00 motorists uncovered the fact that more people drove whilst using their mobile between 2008 and 2009 compared with the figure in 2006. Interestingly the fixed penalty was increased in 2007, from £30, and so the increase in usage suggests the increased fine hasn't acted as a deterrent, leading to many suggesting that the penalty should be increased.

Road safety campaigners in particular have called for the fine to be increased to £1,000 for using a handheld phone whilst driving.

Aside from the study, the use of hands-free mobiles by car drivers quadrupled from 1.2 per cent in 2006 to 4.8 per cent last year, which could either suggest more drivers are using these instead of holding their phones, or that more drivers overall are using their phones in the car.

Whatever the reason for these changes, and whatever the chances of getting caught, the real issue here is road safety and there is no two ways about it- using the phone whilst driving, whether you use hands free or not, disrupts concentration and could lead to an accident.

by Jessica O'Neal
ezinearticles.com

Improve Website Ranking - Handling Too Much Monetization

2010-01-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

A core ideal in every entrepreneur's head could very well be: you can never be too rich. This ideal applies to entrepreneurship or business ventures in both the real world and the World Wide Web. So when webmasters aim to make more money from their popular websites, they monetize them even more than they already have. But when do they draw line between what the website offers and what the website gets?

To improve website ranking is one of the continuous goals of webmasters for their websites. Because to improve website ranking is to get more attention, and to get more attention is to get more traffic, and to get more traffic is to get more opportunities to make profit. But in monetizing a website you inevitably sacrifice some quality. Ads take up space, and too many ads or links eventually get negative feedback. Most people aren't in a particular site simply for the ads that occupy half of every webpage they turn to. There's a simple answer to this that doesn't do away with website ranking.

If you notice how Google doesn't really sneak ads into the list of results it displays after every search, then you get a basic idea of how to monetize without sacrificing quality in your website. The main results list is free from ads or anything else that could irk visitors, but other portions of the page are heavily monetized. You're probably already doing that to a lesser degree, but what you can do is stretch the concept out further. Keep quality and improve website ranking to be able to monetize more by separating the ads more or less completely from the main content of your website. You can develop an offers section that can do way better than just flash a few ads from your affiliates. This way, the content of your website that more people pay attention to won't be crowded by ads and links. You can also take advantage of the page layout just as Google does whenever returning search results.

by Jonathan Sutton
ezinearticles.com

How to Get a Free Laptop With Verizon FiOS

2009-11-10T01:28:00.000-08:00

Verizon FiOS has a bundle package you can choose, and the bundling will allow you to make sure that you are able to get a free laptop, but also that you are able to get the services that you desire. A bundled deal offers great value for the consumer and is the most popular right now.

When you are looking for something like a free laptop, a good thing to think about is the various deals that you might be able to make with companies in order to get one. With Verizon FiOS,you are going to be able to get great deals on a free laptop for numerous reasons.

Anytime someone signs up for a bundled Verizon FiOS plan such as the Double Play or Triple Play, you will have the option to choose a free labtop with your order. Now there are various packaged plans and details may differ slighlty, but getting a solid packaged triple play plan will get you that free labtop you have always dreamed of.

The Better Triple Play is a bundle that you will be able to get that will allow you to get a free laptop. With this bundle, which is priced at $119, you are still going to get the same thing, the phone and the internet and TV, but the internet will be at 25/15 mbps, and you will be able to get the computer free.

The third plan that will allow you to get a computer is the Best Triple Play. This is a service that starts at $129. It is phone, internet, and TV, but the TV is Extreme HD, and you get premium channels. You also get the internet at 25/15. The computer comes free with this service.

Russell Blanc manages an online resource about broadband and Verizon FiOS Bundles and Deals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Blanc

Steps to Help You Save Money on Your Automobile Insurance

2009-11-10T01:24:00.000-08:00

If you are like most Americans, you have a car to drive and you must have automobile insurance in order to do so. Most states require a minimum level of insurance in order to obtain the proper car registration, title, tag or other legal documentation for ownership and operation on public highways. Here are some tips and hints that might save you some green the next time you are shopping for car insurance or your renewal arrives in the mail.

Check Your Credit

Most insurers will check your credit rating when assessing your risk factors for writing and issuing an insurance policy. They assume that your credit score is judgment of your risk as a driver. Make sure you keep your credit rating in good shape.

Increase the Deductible

This is simple math....the more you pay as a deductible, the less the insurer pays in the event of a claim. Having a high deductible will decrease the amount of the premium you pay for your insurance. Another reason for having a high deductible is common sense. You only want to file a claim for a major repair due to a collision or other accident. You do not want to file a claim for a dent, scratch or other minor blemish. This will only cause the insurer to examine your policy and could result in a large increase in your renewal premium or could be cause for them to drop you as an insured.

Shop 'til you Drop

Don't just write a check when the renewal shows up. Make sure you check with several insurance companies to see of you are getting the best rate and service for your dollar. You can do this by phone or via the Internet. There are several insurance "aggregators" that will take your information and request two, three, or quotes from even more insurance 'bidders' for your business.

Add Cars

If you have more than one car in your family, it only makes sense to have them on a single policy. Most insurers offer a 'multi-car' discount for doing so. This also makes sense when there are younger drivers. By having their car in your name and insuring these cars on your own policy, you will save a lot of money over having them having the car in their name and required to get their own separate policy

Seek More Coverage from the Same Insurer

Another way to reduce your automobile insurance is to have your home owners insurance with the same company. Several leading insurance companies award your loyalty by providing a discount for customers that buy multiple policies from the same company.

by Jeff Runyon
Jeff has been writing articles and publishing commentary for several years that cover a number of popular topics of interest from different walks of life.

Finding Games For Kids Just Got Easier

2009-11-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

Parents and teachers understand the value in games for kids to help them get a jumpstart on learning. Even early on, even before pre-school or kindergarten, games that teach math concepts (counting, money, addition, and subtraction), language (word recognition through pictures, phonics, word roots), problem solving and social interaction are valuable tools in not only teaching, but also in promoting the love of learning.

Choosing Appropriate Levels

One of the great frustrations is finding games that are age and difficulty-level appropriate. This can be particularly difficult when a child does not meet the average expectations of the game company's developers or marketing department. Children are sometimes especially exceptional in one skill area or not as good in others.

If a game is too difficult, it can cause disappointment or the "eyes glazed over" look. If too easy, kids can easily get bored and move on to something else. Some children like to play Backgammon, Checkers, and even Life with their siblings while their parents expected them to play Candy Land with their younger siblings.

To date, it has been very difficult to create games in which skill or difficulty level could be easily adjusted let alone adjust automatically in an adaptive fashion. With classic strategy games like chess, backgammon, or even Scrabble, level of difficulty depends on the player's opponent. Otherwise, it seems seemingly impossible to achieve any level of adaptively with traditional board and card games. Even the early electronic games consoles for children were limited in that the purchase of modules, books, or games for the console was required to increase difficulty.

The Turning Point in Technology

The technology to create adaptive games exists. The seeds for it began sprouting in the 1980s with the advent of machine learning algorithms. These mathematical algorithms gave computers the ability to "learn" - to make intelligent decisions in reaction to recognized complex patterns. In other words, the computer could learn how to avoid Fools Mate, checkmate in three moves in Chess, so as to not allow it to happen again.

It was a big to-do in geek circles. You can tell, because like every revolutionary technology, learning machines were made to appear evil in science fiction movies of the early 1980s. War Games and Terminator were both movies in which learning machines would bring the ultimate destruction of humankind.

Making the Change

While a complete transformation has not occurred, changes in educational games have. Providing your child with games for kids is not as difficult as it used to be. Now there are games available for the iPhone as well as traditional board games. You only need to do a simple search for what your child is interested in. You will find a plethora of educational games to match your child's interest.

by Marianne T. Carl
ezinearticles.com

5 Deadly Sins of the CEO

2009-11-10T01:14:00.000-08:00

It is a shame that someone can spend countless hours building a company, and then have it all come crashing down because of some easily avoidable mistakes. I'm talking about the 5 deadly sins of the CEO; those 5 behaviors that cause contempt, dissension, distrust, apathy, and ultimately failure within an organization. Regardless of whether you are the president/CEO, chief "whatever", or just a leader somewhere within a large organization chart...you can learn to avoid these mistakes and contribute to building a world-class, people-building organization.

Let's dive into the 5 sins you can avoid and how you can counter them with more effective leadership skills.

1. Stop Listening to Your People

When you stop listening to your people, it's incredibly destructive to an organization. Your people will stop trying to give you valuable information. This disconnects you from what's really happening with your customers, with your products and services, and with your staff. You can't lead people who you are disconnected from. Not listening also communicates that you don't value them. You will have a difficult time leading people who don't feel valued by you.

So, what should you DO? Listen, Listen, Listen, and keep on listening. Don't get defensive or argue, or be disagreeable either. Instead, just listen. Even if you disagree, say "I can tell that you really care about this issue. Let me spend some time thinking about that and I'll get back to you". If you come back later and say you've thought about it...but disagree, at least you have communicated that you seriously considered what they had to say and will continue to do so. Final tip: if you say you are going to think about it...actually think about it. Don't just wait an hour and then say no. Think about what they said and be open to considering it or open to changing your mind about something.

2. Let Your Ego Grow

There is no better way to generate bitter contempt within your organization than to act bigger and better than everyone. When you make a point to say or show that you are more important, smarter, faster, more effective, and just plain better than them, they will....get ready for this....they will despise you. You may in fact be ALL those thing. You are the CEO and not just anyone rises to that level. But, is your ego so big that you still need to lord it over people? Do you seek to serve yourself?

Do you seek to be praised and receive accolades from others? Are you constantly trying to feed and grow your ego? Do this...and you will completely isolate yourself from your people. You will create a ME versus everyone attitude that people will see a mile away. Again, you can't lead people who secretly despise and don't respect you. Oh, and here is a hint: You may believe that due to your incredible gifted-ness, work ethic, and abilities that people will naturally respect and follow you. Think again. Put your ego on a pedestal and you will lose ALL respect.

So, what should you DO? Be humble. It is ironic, but if you will simply humble yourself, seek to praise others, give accolades to others, and point out the achievements of other people...YOU will rise up in the eyes of your people. You will be well thought of. You will be respected. People will WANT to follow you. Think highly of others FIRST, and others will think highly of you.

3. Say But Don't Do

People don't readily follow a leader who has a "do as I say, not as I do" mentality. It creates an atmosphere or culture which is immediately divisive. An example would be a leader who demands that his/her employees cancel vacation plans to meet a deadline, but is the first one to later claim that you need to maintain a good work/life balance. And more importantly, when their vacation time comes up, you had better believe that they'll take it regardless of how hard you might have to work to compensate.

So, what should you DO? For starters, don't ask anyone to do what you aren't willing to do yourself. If you need people to work late to get something done, join them. If you want people to prepare like crazy before an important presentation, how hard are you willing to prepare before one of your presentations? If others should focus on the details, you should focus on the details. You get the idea; do what you say, and do first, what you expect others to do.

4. Lie or Show Distrust of Your People

Many leaders feel that lying to their people is appropriate. Whether it's about upcoming layoffs, or a division that is being closed, or cancellation of Christmas bonuses...the easiest route seems to be lying or deliberate avoidance. It takes much more character and integrity to just be honest. An honest statement like "Yes, times are tough, and yes we're going to be making some significant reductions...we must do these things to survive as a company" will sting, but trusting your people with the truth will create more willing followers. When you lie or avoid discussing tough situations, you are really expressing distrust that your people will be able to handle it. My experience suggests that when people are given the truth in a straightforward manner, they handle it more professionally and positively.

So, what should you DO? Give truth a try! Place trust in your people and respect them enough to be straight with them. They will see you as a leader with integrity if you do.

5. Intervene and Override Your Followers Decisions (often)

For people who have created a company from scratch or who have risen through the ranks, it's sometimes tough to let go of what you used to do. To move up, you hire or delegate lower level tasks to a competent replacement. If you let go and let the new person try/fail/learn (repeat), they will come out more confident and more competent in the end. But if you continually intervene or override their decisions to avoid the negative consequences of a bad decision, you end up deflating their self-esteem, slowing down development, and creating a dependence that will not soon fade. People will become apathetic because they will be waiting for you to swoop in and save the day before they need to act.

So, what should you DO? Let people fail and learn and grow. People will learn much more by making a bad decision, than from you telling them what the right solution is. It is a time tested method for fast-track development.

Being a leader is serious business. It takes a strong leader to listen, to be humble, to have congruency between your words and actions, to be honest and straightforward, and ultimately to lead and get out of the way. But if you will learn to avoid the 5 deadly sins, and counter them with more effective leadership habits, you will catapult yourself and your organization to world-class status.

by Brad White
ezinearticles.com

How to Send SMS From Microsoft Outlook 2007

2009-11-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

Introduction

E-mail is considered to be the most widespread message sending method on the Internet. Despite of its popularity it has its disadvantages regarding its availability. E-mail messages can only be accessed through the internet therefore if there is no network connection important messages can not be received or even delivered. Ozeki NG SMS Gateway offers an application which adds SMS functionality to an e-mail service. In this overview you can learn about this application alongside with its benefits and fields of application.

Fields of applications

SMS messaging is a widely used communication mechanism both in business and everyday life. That is why SMS technology is welcomed in business sector also as it is one of the simplest and quickest communication method today. But there is still an urgent need to connect computers with mobile phones.

Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 includes a new feature among its services which can be a solution for this problem. It is called Outlook Mobile Service. With the help of this application it is possible to create and send SMS text messages to mobile devices from your computer. In this way e-mail messages, reminders and calendar entries can be forwarded to your mobile device when you are away from the office. Therefore you will be available in all the time and you will never miss important events or meetings. In this way Outlook Mobile Services can function as a complete personal information manager.

These excellent features can be achieved with the use of an SMS gateway software. This software will provide the necessary SMS functionality to your corporate IT system. Therefore you will be able to send and receive SMS messages from your computer to mobile phones. This SMS functionality makes you possible to be always available even if you are away from the office. Furthermore, with SMS technology you can keep in touch with your colleagues, customers, business partners.

Ozeki NG SMS Gateway is a software which is able to meet the above mentioned properties to provide SMS extension to your corporate IT environment. Using an SMS gateway software also makes bi-directional communication possible. This means that a text message is sent from your computer (from Outlook) is received on a mobile phone. The user of the phone can reply to this text message and this reply will be sent to the sender's mobile phone. If you decide to implement this solution you will get a stable and well-functioning system to improve communication within and outside of your company.

Benefits

By combining Ozeki NG SMS Gateway with Outlook Mobile Services you will gain a modern information manager system. You will be able to forward your important calendar entries, urgent reminders or even received e-mail messages as an SMS message. In this way you can save time and money as you always be up-to-date, prepared and well-informed. It is also possible to send one message to more than one mobile phones and to e-mail addresses at the very same time. So you do not need to send a message twice or more if there are numbers of recipients. Moreover you do not need to choose from the sending methods as you can send your message both as SMS and e-mail message. With this solution you will always be available. You also can improve your corporate communication as SMS messages are simple but still very effective and quick methods of communication.

Conclusion

An efficient company leader is always well-informed and has the potential to immediately solve problems. Ozeki NG SMS Gateway system is essential to provide you such principles; with its application you can greatly increase your availability and can cut off long response time which eventually saves resource for the benefit for your company. Based on its next generation technology this software can live up to the highest performance demands and can work continuously under great pressure as well. If you are seeking for such features Ozeki NG SMS Gateway is the perfect choice for you as it provides all the above described advantages.

by Peter Robert
Contact

Ozeki Informatics Ltd.
Address: Viola u. 20-24/B, Budapest, Hungary, H1094
Tel: (36 52) 532 731
Fax: (36 52) 532 732

Best Free Blog Hosts

2009-11-10T01:06:00.000-08:00

When you have decided to start blogging, you will most likely start by using the platform that some other blogger that you respect is using. If he or she has been using WordPress.com you will most likely think that this is the best free blog host that there is and will register with an account and start using it. If he or she has been using blogger.com you are most likely going to use that.

Many bloggers have started using self hosted blogs because they come in quite cheap these days. You can get a hosting account for as little as $2 a month and an .info domain name for less than a dollar a year. That way you will have total control over your blog, but in most cases no-one will ever find your blog. This is where the free blog hosts are superior - they already have an active community of people who like to read others, and you are more likely to be read by someone in that community.

Unfortunately most of the free blog hosts have terms and conditions that do not allow you to customize your blog to an extent that it would satisfy most of their users, and this is causing many people to start with a free blog host, and then move to their own hosting. The best one, which allows you to customize your template and even display your own advertisement on the blog, is blogger.com that is owned by Google. It has also been said that it is readily found in the search engines for that reason.

Finding the best free blog hosts might not be as easy as it should be. Take a look at my guide about free blogging and find out if it is the best alternative for you, or should you go with an affordable paid hosting account.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Laupher

Hair Loss Treatment Reviews - What to Look For

2009-11-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

Like any consumer opinion, you can only rely on hair loss treatment reviews to a certain extent. The opinions expressed may match the results that you will see, but they might not.

In order to help you evaluate what you read in a hair loss review, here's a look at the causes of alopecia and baldness. You may be able to figure out what's causing your problem and compare it to what you read about in other consumer's reports.

Does badness run in your family?

If it does and the reviews you are reading were written by other people that have inherited alopecia or baldness, then you should experience the same results that those people see. Treatments that typically work for inherited baldness in men include saw palmetto and Minoxidil. For women, Minoxidil is effective in more than 50% of cases, according to research.

Are you a man?

If you're a man, a hair loss review written by a woman might not provide the information that you need. By the same token, if you are a woman, you want something that works for women. But, nutritional deficiencies are common in both sexes. Magnesium supplements are recommended for both men and women. Zinc is commonly recommended only for men.

Did the alopecia happen suddenly or did baldness occur gradually over time?

The most common cause of sudden alopecia is a shock to the system. It could be a physical or a psychological shock. Child birth, the loss of a loved one, a nutritional deficiency, a high fever, serious illness or surgery could cause the problem.

You don't need to read a hair loss review to find a cure; a little time will do the trick. After three to six months, you should start to see the problem resolve itself. But, nutritional supplements may speed the process.

Is the baldness in a pattern?

Baldness that occurs on the top of the head in men and around the natural part in women is considered pattern baldness. It occurs because the follicles in those areas are more sensitive to a hormone called DHT or dihydrotestosterone. The sensitivity is sometimes hereditary, but it may be caused by dietary factors or other health problems.

If you have pattern baldness, you can trust in the hair loss treatment reviews for saw palmetto and Minoxidil. But if you want to see the best results, you should make sure that you are eating a healthy diet that is low in simple carbs and junk food. Those foods contribute to inflammation, which damages the hair-producing follicles.

Saw palmetto prevents DHT from damaging the follicles. Minoxidil improves blood circulation and nutrient flow to the follicles. You should find a positive hair loss review for one or both of those products on the internet.

There are many other causes of alopecia, but the ones mentioned above are the most common. They are typically mentioned in hair loss treatment reviews. I hope this information will help you make an informed decision on what you should do next.

by Arianna Dumonde
Arianna Dumonde is a consumer advocate and a dedicated researcher of nutrition and hair loss issues affecting both men and women.

Tricks That Will Make You Feel Good at Work

2009-11-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

In full crisis, when the bad news coming from all sides, employees feel more strongly than ever stress at work. Working in a framework would affect their depressor. Fear of redundancy, overtime, pressure to work constantly to put their imprint on the optimal state of mind of employees.

1. Plan activities in order of priority

- The first step is that each employee to have a balanced program to avoid the stress and physical and mental exhaustion.
- The best is that the employee to plan their activities to resolve them in order of priority.
- If not managed to tick all the activities listed, the day must ensure that what he proposed over the previous day.
- Moreover, if you have responsibilities that believe that they will occupy more time, it's good to try to divide them so that they can solve on stage.

2. Team work

- Another solution is removing the "perfectionism".
- The solution is to work in a team as much, not to set unrealistic targets and can not be fulfilled in a time objective.
- Professional criticism is further seen as a constructive discussion, intended to improve activity in any way to discourage.

3. Socializing with peers

- Perhaps more than ever, it is advisable for employees to be careful with the smallest details.
- It matters very much how they interact with others. If the employee feels numb, it is advisable to take their few minutes in which to clear up thoughts. Even a walk up to another office you can revive.
- If the employee knows when she's overwhelmed by the professional duties and take a break to recharge his batteries prove liability, because in this way to avoid load and colleagues with the same negative attitude.

4. Discussion with the boss directly

- Working with fear of being dismissed is not productive, and soon will no longer reach the required efficiency.
- Is indicated for employees to have a discussion with the heads direct to establish a clear list of priorities and objectives.

By Cristian Florescu

Search Jobs on the Internet Quickly and Easily

2009-11-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

The internet is considered to be the best medium for searching jobs. Job portals help people looking for employment to browse through thousand of openings posted by companies with vacancies. Employers across the world have also started preferring the internet over other mediums to look for workers. Therefore, candidates can easily look for international, national and regional vacancies.

Why do people prefer the internet?

The internet has become the preferred mode because it saves time. Many sites offer various resources that help people to choose the appropriate career. Furthermore, another advantage is the internet also allows employment seekers to participate in the networking sites where they may get in touch with people who may offer employment. They can also hunt for work in specific sectors.

How to find the right job on the internet?

As mentioned before, the internet provides various resources in order to help job seekers to find the desired openings. If the resources are utilized in a proper way, one may find the right means of earning one's living without much ado.

1.Instead of going through all the vacancies, make use of the search tool. This helps in finding the right openings only and saves time.

2.Search by using suitable keywords. The keywords should be used in such a way that the unwanted results are filtered out.

3.Sometimes even after using appropriate keywords undesirable results might appear. In such case take quick look at the method and headings used by the site to classify the openings. Sometimes becoming familiar with the conventions used by the portal will help you to zero in on the right set of vacancies.

4.You may also wish to look for vacancies in only certain locations or have certain expectations regarding compensation. In such cases use the advanced options where you can combine parameters while looking for vacancies.

Tips for freshers

When you start job-hunting, employers will ask for your resume. It is your resume which gives the potential employers a clear idea about your strengths and abilities. So create one properly before applying. Otherwise you may have to send in a hastily done one. This will reduce your chances of being hired. You must also prepare your application documents with your educational and training details, certificates, recommendations, and personal details.

Use the internet and in no time you'll find just the right position.

By Melville Jackson

3 Creative Ways to Personalize the Unity Candle

2009-11-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

Every little thing you will find used during your wedding day is considered to be very symbolic. Although they are already made special all on their own, you might want to add a bit more special touch to them by personalizing them accordingly. Your unity candle is one of the most important and touching items used during your wedding ceremony. One such reason for this is because it symbolizes the light of your love for each other. The unity candle can be seen as the fire of your passion for each other, something that you both would promise to keep lighted no matter how difficult times may be for both or either of you.

One thing you should know about these items used during the wedding ceremony is that you are actually free to customize or personalize them whichever way you choose. Like your wedding vows, you can add something more special to these wedding symbols so that it would add more meaning to you and your partner as you are going through the wedding ceremony. So in your own little way you can actually prepare the unity candle days before your wedding and make it creatively personalized for you and your future spouse. To give you some creative ideas, here are some tips you might want to consider:

Color it up - You don't have to be such a candle expert to be able to do this. You can doll up your unity candle with colors by means of tying colorful bows and ribbons around it or wrapping ribbons around the candle's body so that it would not look bare. You can also try to do the overdipping technique so that colors would overlap on the candle. However, you would need some more wax, a bit of other candle-making materials, plus a step by step procedure to guide you to make sure that you don't end up overmelting the candle altogether as well as prevent dangerous accidents from happening.

Personalized your unity candle's stand - Who says you have to focus on just the candles? Well, you can actually make the whole process more creative and exciting if you also chose to customize the candle holders. You can also start by choosing a less formal candle holder or should you want to go classy and elegant, you can amp it up by placing laces of pearls over it so that it looks more chic. Just make sure you lace up the holders on the areas where the candle's fire won't be able to be near it so you can prevent accidents from happening.

Etch a design on your unity candle - If you want to push your creativity further, you can also try etching some designs right onto your unity candle so you can just get a simple-looking holder and no other fuss would be made on the candles you will use. Just make sure the design is easy to sketch all by yourself. You can use a thin aluminum line to do this or any other sharp but thin-tipped object so that you can trace your design easily onto the candles.

by Harrison Fray
Harrison Fray, is a an expert at various types of wedding and relationship issues. He can help you to pick out the best in groomsmen gifts with unique style. Harrison can definitely help you with chooising the proper personalized pub signs also. Stop by Engraved Gift Creations to see what Harrison recommends.

Learn To Earn Money Online Afflliate Marketing

2009-11-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

Affiliate Marketing is an avenue anyone can use to earn money online, and Internet Marketing is the platform that enables you to launch and implement your affiliate programs through. Everybody knows that no platform or foundation or a poor one of these means very poor or no results. What does this mean? It means that any affiliate program, by itself, will not make money! Knowledge in internet marketing is a must if you are going to be successful in any affiliate marketing endeavor, period.

There are many strategies and techniques that can be used to grow online businesses. The fresher, up-to-date and proven internet marketing methods are the better the results will be. Affiliate marketing is when a person is allowed to sell a vendors /merchants products and when a sale is made there is a commission paid to the person who made the sale for the merchant. Since the beginning of the internet affiliate marketing has become a favorite avenue for earning income at home.

Internet marketing skills are what puts people and products together but learning intricate ways of selling, building relationships, product research, understanding audiences (the various different groups of people searching for products within a niche), understanding niches, understanding relevance, web design, how to set up campaigns and more all comes from internet marketing experience. It's the biggest reason newbies and anybody who thinks that they can just go online and make money just because a work at home program says no experience necessary gets taken so easily and in more ways than one. Clearly it's a sales tactic for many programs. Experience is always a plus.

Actually internet marketing helps to take much of the guess work out of making affiliate sales by giving the marketer knowledge about things as simple as relevance. Staying relevant about a product from the entire web page to the keywords to the ad when promoting to a relevant audience is not a very easy thing to do when you barely understand anything at all about the internet. It's definitely easy to see how internet marketing/affiliate marketing gets such a bad rap about not being what it's all cracked up to be. Truth be known it is exactly what it's cracked up to be.

Sadly most people enter it from the very start with the wrong thinking. Most of us go to school for at least 12 to 13 years learning everything we know yet just because someone puts on their product no experience necessary many think that they can take that program and go out and make a million dollars in record time with no education about the main vehicle that's to fuel the program which is internet marketing.

Remember that without internet marketing skills an affiliate marketing program is basically a big guessing game of hit and miss. Who in their right frame of mind would want to stake their future on that. Only people who are much too desperate to realize that they can't possibly do this type of venture and expect good results. Affiliate marketing is not a game, it's a business and it's very real. It's a great way to make a lot of money but you must learn everything you need to know about the system that is the pinnacle of it's success and that is internet marketing.

by Donald Whitehead
Donald Whitehead: Webmaster/Article Writer 4 years. There is money to be made on the internet and lots Of it! You can create wealth, easier, faster, and more effectively with proper training. Good Internet Marketing Training is the pinnacle of earning massive incomes via Affiliate Marketing. How good is your affiliate marketing? Please Visit For Free Guide & Tour Now: Wealthy Affiliate University

Making Money Online With Surveys - The Real Truth

2009-11-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

There used to be a time when making money online with surveys was simple, many people used it as a second income, some even as their primary income. Shortly after 2004 the market for online surveys grew and grew until it reached a point of saturation. When this happened online survey sites were no longer what they used to be, many would compete against each other for the surveys that clients were offering to be completed. So what was the result of this? Well the number of online survey sites increased massively, the problem was they were all sub par; the reasons?

1: Many were unable to offer a decent amount of surveys for the end user, because of this the payout was usually too small to bother with.
2: To keep maximum profit many survey sites would never payout to the end user and then shortly disapear.
3: Some even started charging for membership in an attempt to regain some lost profits.

Whilst all this was happening there was still one survey company who were never affected by the turn in the market and even to this day continue to dominate the online survey domain, and they were; Survey Adventure. So why are they any different to the others?

1: They remain the biggest online survey site around and are provided with surveys from very big corporate research companies.
2: They offer large paying surveys, some are worth upwards of $8 just for 1 survey!
3: Their survey list is enormous and ever growing, because of this you will rarely ever run out of surveys to do, and so the earning potential is almost unlimited!

So if your thinking about making money online with surveys then use Survey Adventure, they are the most popular and reliable in the industry and most people could earn a nice second income with them in the comfort of their own home!

Survey adventure are completely free to join and after becoming a member you could be earning money within minutes!

by Cyrus Jackson
goarticles.com

Business is Risky

2009-11-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

There are no guarantees in business. It doesn't matter if you run a large corporation, or a small business nothing is guaranteed. The consumer behavior is constantly changing, the competition is constantly getting better, and the government is always throwing more regulations into the loop making things tough on whatever business model, or industry you're participating in.

The same is true for franchising, and although the franchising model provides fewer failures than other small businesses on average, franchising is no ironclad guarantee for success. I want you to consider that if you are thinking about buying a franchise, because it is something that is very important and something that, although you may already realize, many people don't understand.

Before retirement I ran a franchising company, we were involved in the car washing sector, and many franchise buyers were so excited to get into this new business that they really were not thinking about all the ramifications of the franchise agreement they might be signing in the future. In fact, we had to stop many of them in their tracks and explain to them that there are no guarantees for success and it is hard work.

You see, I used to have to remind them that cars don't wash themselves, and even our fixed site automated car wash business model, required labor and hard work. Our mobile systems required a tremendous amount of work, lots of management, lots of scheduling control, and a lot of work had to be completed before there was enough efficiency to eek out a profit on any given job.

There was no guarantee for success and there never has been, and that goes for any franchise system. There are just too many factors in the business world, and too many things that can go wrong, and things that hit you from out of the blue that you never saw coming. And even if, as a franchisor, we did see most all the potential threats before they hit as, there was still the black Swan event's which no one could have predicted. I hope you will please consider this.

By Lance Winslow
ezinearticles,com

How to Be Happy - Taking Care of Aging Parents

2009-11-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for the day when you no longer feel your parents are safe living alone? What plans have you made with them, what actions set in place?

Will your parents come live with you or move into an assisted living facility? Are they already living in an adult active community? Are they still driving safely or have means of getting around to the store, to doctors. to friends, family and out for fun?

How often do you see your parents? How often do you talk with them on the telephone?

Do you have a nuclear family into which fitting your parents would be burdensome:? Or do you welcome the thought of having them as a regular and daily part of your extended family as was the norm until the baby boomer generation?

Do your parents feel needed? Everyone needs to feel important and everyone needs to feel needed.

Assist your parents with asset protection and finances and insurance needs while they are still well and able to take part in the choices. Doing so can save their home If something happens to their health that incurs high medical expenses.

If your parents have money to afford to live some place other than with you or family members how do you handle the choice of what to do? How long will their money last in the outside world of independent or even assisted living? ensure no public facility will kick them out when their funds run out.

Make the plans while your parents are well and happy If you need to make changes, do so now while they enjoy life and an awareness of their world, while. socially active and taking part in life.

That way, where ever they are the place is already familiar to them when changes begin to sneak up unnoticed until life gets really challenging.

Remember, when emotions go up intelligence goes down. Please set plans while your parents are well. Crisis time is no time to start figuring out what to do.

Keep in mind the fact that one day you will be the older parent so make the plans for your own future when you make the plans for your parents.

What you focus on expands and manifests in your life. Discover how your brain and mind influence your choice of focus completely out of your awareness--and what to do about it.

By Ali Bierman
ezinearticles.com

Three Simple Ways to Become a Better Leader Today

2009-10-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Old leadership model - A great hero, charismatic and influential, able to take a group and spur them on towards the attainment of their goals. Think of old army leaders, sat their horses, facing their troops before battle to give them one last motivational boost.

This 'heroic' paradigm, only slightly exaggerated here, is what influence business books, courses and practice starting from around the 70s. But the times, as they say, they are a-changing, and new paradigms are now focused around balancing efficiency and productivity with a concern for the needs of the followers.

Problems with the old model

What if the heroic leader doesn't turn out to be all that heroic? Self-serving individuals can cause all manner of havoc, particularly if they are in leadership positions, and even more so in senior leadership positions. Scandals such as Enron have been ascribed by some people to the arrogance of the executives.

Also, leadership does not reside within one or two individuals, in any but the smallest collaborative organisations. There may be a finite amount of leadership to go around, but this is spread throughout the group, and thinking otherwise can hinder productive collaboration, and as Roger Martin notes, cause followers to become under-responsible in their roles.

New Perspectives

Recent research in leadership has offered some new suggestions for effective leadership. These include:

1. Value Individuals - Leaders must be aware of their follower's needs which includes being aware of their stage of development and offering support and and appropriate level of challenge for them to learn and grow, perhaps into leaders themselves.

2. Acting with Integrity - According to Gallup, what followers look for the most in their leader is trust, compassion, stability and hope. This means openness and honesty, and an evenhanded way of dealing with followers.

3. Leverage your talents - There is no one perfect mould of a leader; rather, leaders have knowledge of their own leadership strengths, and they are able to leverage by finding way to apply their own strengths, and building a team around those talents they lack.

This new paradigm is emerging from research in the UK and the US. The idea of the heroic leader, although perfect material for Hollywood, is not the most effective way to capitalise on the talent within an organisation. The new models allow for stronger collaboration and a better working environment, allowing staff to learn and grow, as well, of course, as keeping due focus on the bottom line.

by Warren Davies
Warren Davies is a psychology student, about to take the masters in applied positive psychology at UEL. His website, http://generallythinking.com, contains more articles explaining psychology in plain English, as well as practical advice that has come out of this field. Updated regularly, there are currently over 60 articles online - visit now to check them out!

Outsourcing Your Facebook Strategies

2009-10-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

Facebook is the 12th largest website on the Internet. With over 175 million active users, it can be a promotional tool that can bring a worldwide presence to your business that was unheard of just a few years ago. The Internet is constantly changing and growing...what can this mean to your business? Do you have the knowledge to make the most from these social networking sites and do you have the time?

When you think of outsourcing, you think of billing, admin tasks, call center staffing and data mining. But a new kind of outsourcing firm has emerged. Not only a firm that saves you money on labor costs, but one that partners with your business to help it grow. One that utilizes the Internet to connect with millions of prospective customers that you sorely need to compete in this emerging worldwide business arena. With the more competitive economy, you can no longer ignore any avenue that will create a solid presence in your market.

When you think of Facebook, you probably think of school kids sharing photos of their prom dance. But like anything that harnesses the attention of 175 million users, savvy Internet marketers are using Facebook to create a powerful online strategy to promote their business. These strategies include uploading videos to show their products, networking with like minded prospects and creating pages that encourage good customer service and branding to keep your business image fresh and in the forefront of customer's minds. These tasks are not particularly difficult to perform with the proper training and quite easily turned over to an outsourcing firm.

The outsourcing firm you choose makes all the difference in whether or not you are utilizing the Internet to it's fullest potential. Make sure that when you are researching an overseas rep that they are well trained in social networking. This is where your customers are spending their time...nearly everyday. Building an online image for your business is not as difficult as it can be time consuming. Labor costs for Internet marketing duties can be an issue and finding the trained personnel can be an issue as well. The right outsourcing firm can solve both these problems. You just have to know where to look.

You can find outsourcing tips in my new book "Outsource This!" Check it out.

by Daven Michaels
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, "Outsource This!" Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting http://www.OutsourcingOutsourcing.Com

Do You Want to Lose 10 Pounds in Two Weeks and Keep it Off? You Can!

2009-10-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

If you want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, you can. However, to do so, you're going to have to know specific information that will help you succeed. If you want to lose 10 pounds fast, you'll need to know how things work first.

First of all, if you begin to lose the weight on your own, you may have short-term success, but over the long haul, you're probably going to fail. Why? Well, before we talk about that, let's ask this question: Has this worked for you before? If you've failed previously, you don't have to this time. There are some steps you can follow so that you can reach your goal and lose 10 pounds fast without having to work too hard. We'll talk about that in just a minute.

Get realistic with your weight loss goals

Most important of these is that you have to be realistic. Usually, people can lose 10 pounds in two weeks, true, but they do so in such a way that they can actually hurt their metabolisms. It's true that they may lose the weight, but they'll probably gain it back very quickly -- and gain even more. There are lots of gimmicks out there, lots of new weight loss programs that promise that you can lose 10 pounds fast, but most of them don't work. You are simply shelling out your hard-earned cash for nothing more than informational garbage.

Can you really stick to these methods? In fact, most of these regimens are so unrealistic that you can't live by them for the long-term. After awhile, you are going to get tired of the diet and your hunger (and boredom) is going to drive you to go back to the "tried-and-true," which is to eat too much and not exercise enough, if at all. So if you want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, you need something that's easier, something that you can actually do, and something that's going to produce results.

Start a weight loss program that is doable and stick-at-able

If you've tried out fad diets before, or if you've maybe even tried popping a diet pill here and there, I have a question for you. Why aren't you still on that same diet or taking those same pills? And because you're not satisfied, you go from diet to diet to diet, thinking that "this time" is going to be the charm. You don't see any lasting results, and so you keep looking.

What you want is weight loss that's going to be long lasting; people everywhere are looking for it. If the truth be told, you've probably been successful at losing weight at least once in your life. Problem is, this shouldn't just be a "tease," or only to have the weight come right back. There's a better way to go about things, and we'll talk about that in just a minute.

Lose weight naturally

What if there was a way to lose belly fat naturally? This is real and not too good to be true. It really doesn't get any better than that. The bottom line is that we all know what it takes to lose weight. Losing a specific amount of weight in a short amount of time is going to take skill and knowledge. But not as much as you may think, these tips and tricks are easy to learn and stick to over a long period of time.

So if you want to lose 10 pounds fast, read on. You're not going to find these tips anywhere else. They're simple and easy to follow, and they work. You can lose 10 pounds in two weeks -- and keep them off, too.

by John GilbertGrant
JohnGG can help you attain your perfect weight. Take the free Weight Loss Survey and get his free report and .mp3 'The 4 Essential Factors for Weight Loss' plus Weight Loss Tips.

How to Use Keywords to Position Your Articles

2009-10-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

The greater the number of articles in circulation, the more exposure you will receive, however you always want to focus on producing high quality content, rather than just on the quantity that is being distributed between these networks.

Submitting an article to an article directory would get it on the internet. That part is what's correct. But, it won't mean that the article will actually get viewed, and it also won't mean that people will click the backlink.

Thus, when talking about positioning your articles, it essentially means positioning them in the relevant searches, so that they're more likely to be found by the right people.

You can include your keyword in your title. Article directories will often use your title text in their HTML tag for the page...which will help you rank better on Google for that keyword

Keywords are important - that can't be stressed enough. Considering that search engines are still the primary way in which people look for anything on the internet, it means that people who are looking for things in whatever niche you're in, are going to be doing so on search engines.

Basic keyword research is really pretty easy, and there isn't too much about it that even a beginner can't come to grips with. Seeing as Google is the most popular search engine around, getting data from it seems to be a logical place to begin.

When conducting keyword research, there are three considerations in particular that play an important role:

1. Number of Searches

Quite literally, this is just the number of searches per month. If a term has a high number of searches, it means lots of people are looking for it, which definitely makes it a better choice.

2. Competition

Once you have a keyword that has a decent amount of searches, plug it into Google and search for it. When you get the results, take note of how many there are. For instance, if there are 11,800,000 results, then that means a lot of people are competing for that keyword.

On the other hand, if you end up with something like 1,800 results, then there are very few competing websites.

3. Profitability

Not all traffic is as profitable, and sometimes, for certain keywords, the traffic that is obtained just refuses to be converted. While there are a lot of factors that can affect this, it isn't too relevant as far as keyword research is concerned.

Instead, it is better to know just one simple test of the 'profitability' of a keyword.

Insert keywords in such a way that they flow smoothly through the article, and follow the 1% to 3% keyword density rule closely. For each article, it is generally advisable to have one 'short' keyword of about 2 to 3 words, and two 'long' keywords of 4 or more words.

Wahyu Tan specializes in teaching new internet marketers how to set up highly profitable marketing campaigns and heavily monetized websites using the power of FREE resources.

by Wahyu Tan
ezinearticles.com

3D Model Buildings and 3D Interior Design - Making Buildings Better

2009-10-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Imagine that you want to make your building better than others in an effective manner. Then you will need something to make you very clear about how to build your proposed building structure. If you have some kind of template or sample of your building well before it gets constructed, then it becomes a lot easier for you to achieve your goal - "a better and impressive building". 3D model buildings and 3D interiors design for buildings are the best suitable option for you to do this.

3D model buildings - as the name indicates are set of 3D models prepared from different angles and dimensions of any building structure. They represent a 3D object of a building by taking into consideration various geometrical entities and rules. 3D models buildings are made with focusing heavily on different factors like width, height, breadth, lines, surface with curves of building components.

Such 3D models buildings are really helpful in most of the following areas:

• 3d architectural models
• roof 3d model
• 3D interior building modeling
• 3D exterior building modeling
• 3D building architectural models and products
• Various types of buildings such as commercial, residential, industrial buildings are using such 3D models buildings effectively

3D interior design is also important for better building construction. Use of proper 3D interiors designs of your proposed building structure will not only make your building attractive but also will give you various ideas about your building interiors. These 3D interior design services are used in:

• interior design rendering
• interior architectural design
• interior design furniture
• Office interiors
• Interior house design

So there is no doubt that if you use 3D models buildings and 3D interior design for constructing your building, then your building will definitely be as impressive as you would have liked.

by Bobby V Smith

http://ezinearticles.com

Tahu Gejrot, Tahunya Urang Cirebon (urang Cirebon atanapi urang Kuningan??? -red)

2009-10-02T05:38:00.000-07:00

Jakarta - Kini tak sulit mencari tahu gejrot di Jakarta. Tak hanya namanya yang unik, tahu goreng yang dipotong-potong dan diguyur kuah sambal kecoklatan yang rasanya pedas dan gurih ini benar-benar poll enaknya. Jangan heran kalau seporsi saja tak pernah cukup!

Salah satu makanan khas orang Cirebon ini (Cirebon apa Kuningan??? hehe -red) memiliki nama yang cukup unik yaitu tahu gejrot. Meskipun tak jelas darimana asal mula nama tersebut bermula tetapi berkat rasanya yang enak dan khas membuatnya cukup populer. Tak hanya di Cirebon sana melainkan di Jakarta dan kota-kota lainnya di Indonesia.

Yang menjadikan tahu gejrot merupakan makanan yang unik dan disukai adalah bahan-bahan dan bumbu racikannya. Pertama bahan dasar tahu yang digunakan bukanlah sembarang tahu melainkan tahu khusus yang didatangkan dan dibuat dari Cirebon. Tahu kulit ini rasanya tawar dan teksturnya sedikit kasar berbeda dengan tahu Sumedang.

Selain irisan tahu ada kuah sambal yang diracik dengan sejumlah bumbu seperti garam, bawang merah, bawang putih, gula merah dan cabai rawit. Kesemuanya di uleg kasar dalam wadah seperti cobek mungil dari tanah liat lalu ditambahkan air yang sudah dicampur kecap dan gula aren.

Tahu yang telah dipotong dua kemudian disiramkan oleh kuah sambal. Nah, kuah kecoklatan yang meresap dalam tahu inilah yang membuat rasanya sangat nikmat. Belom lagi sensasi pedas gerusan cabai rawit yang menyetrum lidah... wuihh dijamin bikin ketagihan. Untuk menikmatinya tahu gejrot ini tidak menggunakan sendok melainkan sebatang lidi kecil untuk menusuk tahu.

Di Jakarta tahu gejrot biasanya dijual di warung dan rumah makan gaya Cirebon dengan harga sekitar Rp 5000,00 - Rp 7000,00 saja. Gimana, tertarik untuk mencicipi tahu gejrot sore ini?

sumber: detik.com

7 Tips For Working Smarter Not Harder at Work

2009-09-15T07:52:00.001-07:00

Do you go home at night only to think of the 6 million things that you should-have, could-have, would-have done at work today had you not been constantly interrupted or sidetracked?

My motto - Work Smarter, Not Harder! If we use our time wisely than we will be able to accomplish what we need to do and we can decrease the number of times we wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat stressing about what needs to get done or what we have forgotten to do.

Are you ready to be more productive at work? Here are 7 tips that are sure to increase your productivity at work.

1. Get enough rest. No, this is not your mother nagging you, but it is important to be well rested. You will be a lot more efficient and effective if you are well rested and can stay focused.
2. Make a to-do list. It has been said that our brain can only retain about 6 things at a time. My guess is you have a lot more than 6 things going on at work (let alone at home). Write it down! Make a habit of updating your to-do list before you leave work every day. This allows you to do a brain dump of all the misc. things rattling around in your head.
3. Create an effective filing system. A filing system is no good if you file something and later cannot find it. Determine what type of filing system works for you (alpha, numeric, etc.) and go from there. Before you file ask yourself, "If I were going to look for this file again, where would I look?" Keep is simple and sensible.
4. Limit your socializing. Do you enjoy the company at work? Many of us do, but remember, for every minute you are catching up with your colleagues, you are wasting precious work time, which can force you to spend more time at work and less time enjoying other areas of your life. Gather your colleagues for a break or lunch and catch up then.
5. Stop multi-tasking. For starters, it does not work! Have you ever tried to carry on a phone conversation, AND reply to someone's email, just to find that you are making typo mistakes, or not understanding your caller? You will accomplish more (and limit mistakes) if you stop multi-tasking.
6. Take a break. That is right! We all know how intense work can be. A quick break to stretch your legs, or grab a snack can help you to refresh and refocus.
7. Limit your interruptions. Yes, you can actually limit your interruptions, without being rude. A simple, "Thanks for stopping by to chat, but I have to get back to this report in order to get it out by lunch. I will catch up with you later" can help end an interruption without coming off cold.

Whether you are an employee, manager, or self employed, productivity is a high priority for those that want continued success. Remember to Work Smarter, Not Harder!

by Michelle Poteet

How to Treat the Flu - Ten Practical Tips to Get You Through the Sickness

2009-09-15T07:46:00.001-07:00

How to treat the flu is a question that is on a lot of minds; and this year is a double whammy with normal seasonal flu and the Novel H1N1 swine flu strain hitting at the same time. What should we be doing?

Unfortunately, there really is only one thing different that most of us can do and that's get the vaccination for seasonal flu as soon as it becomes available in your area. Vaccinations for H1N1 are going to be in limited supply and only available persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years, plus health care workers and some care givers. If you are otherwise healthy and over 24 you will not get a shot for swine flu.

The symptoms of seasonal flu and swine flu are almost identical and it really takes a lab test to figure out which one you have. The symptoms are fever, sore throat, coughing, runny nose, nasal congestion and generally feeling run down.

Symptoms that should trigger a call to the doctor or ER are difficulty breathing, bluish tint to skin, persistent vomiting, or the return of symptoms after the fever has broken.

You can't "cure" the flu but you can treat the symptoms. The following are generally accepted treatments:

* Use Tylenol or ibuprofen to treat the fever
* Get plenty of rest. With the seasonal flu, your immune system will do as much to rid the flu as anything else. Unfortunately, no one has ever been exposed to N1H1 before so the immune system will be of little help.
* Drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water. If you weigh 150 pounds then drink at least 75 ounces of water.
* Eat nutritious food and try to include garlic, onion, rosemary and thyme in your diet for their anti-viral qualities.
* Gargle with warm salt water each morning and evening to help prevention of infection in the throat.
* If you are on prescription drugs, check with your doctor to see how, or if, they will interact with the flu virus.

The second half of treatment is containment. Keeping the infected from infecting more.

* While masks (N95) will not protect you from getting the flu, it can be used on the patient to deter spreading the disease.
* Try to keep at least 4 feet from the patient. An infected person can spray the virus up to 3 feet with a cough or sneeze.
* Have the patient wash his or her hands frequently.
* Sanitize any surfaces the patient touches. When washing bedding or clothes, use a basket to move the laundry, don't hug it in your arms.

Influenza, be it seasonal or H1N1 is miserable. Hopefully these tips will help in a speedy recovery and a return to regular life.

Did you know that a family of four has an 80 percent chance of having a member be infected with swine flu? Do you have a plan to provide for care if a kid can't go to school? Did you know that vaccinations will be rationed due to a shortage of supply?

by Rachel Willson
ezinearticles.com

How To Make Thousands Of Dollars Online For FREE - Start Earning Right Now With These Simple Methods!

2009-09-15T02:53:00.000-07:00

I don't want to waste you time with hype and other useless garbage so I'm going to get right down to it. In this article you are going to find out about 2 methods of making money online. The first method for making money online using free techniques will make you a decent amount of bank if you really work hard at it but the real money lies in using the second method.

The second method will allow you to make six figures online. How? Because this method is a real business model which requires very little effort on your part. So, keep on reading to find out about these 2 simple methods for making money online...

Fill Out Free Offers And Make Money Online...

The first way to make money online with ease is to fill out free offers using a website called CashCrate. CashCrate is a website that allows you to fill out surveys and free offers in exchange for money. It is entirely free, very simple to use, and best of all a guaranteed way to make money online.

Now, I will not lie to you. You aren't going to be making hundreds of dollars a day just by filling out free offers and surveys. However, it is possible to earn several thousands of dollars every single month by using CashCrate if you know how to work the system correctly.

You see, the real money starts rolling in once you start referring other people to CashCrate. When you do this you will be making money on complete autopilot. You won't see a whole lot of money right away but if you keep on referring new people to CashCrate then you will begin to see a very nice side income roll in you way. Just click the link below to visit CashCrate for yourself.

=> Click here to start making some easy cash! <=

Keep on reading to find out about a method of making money online which has the potential to make you six figures a year...

Make Tons Of Money Online OR Buy A Pizza?

The next method of making money online has the potential to make you thousands upon thousands of dollars right from the get go. Yes, filling out free offers and surveys is a nice way to rack up a side income but it will not generate you a full time income in the same way that this next method will. This next method is the real deal when it comes to making money online.

So, what is it? It's called The Conduit Method and it is quite possible the easiest way to make a full time income online. This method is all about leveraging the work done by others so that you can make as much money as possible with very little effort on your part.

How can I be so sure of this? Well for one, I have my own copy of The Conduit Method. I know exactly what it has to offer and I know that well worth the investment of a pizza. That's right, you can get your hands on a six figure income blueprint for the same price as a pizza!

Don't believe me? Just click the link below to see for yourself. If you are serious about making money online then you absolutely need to check this report out.

Visit the official Conduit Method website right NOW!

^^What are you waiting for? You would like to make a full time income with as little effort as possible, right?

by Max R

goarticles.com

3 Reasons Why Internet Income Training and Mentoring Can Kickstart Your Business

2009-09-15T02:49:00.000-07:00

The internet business is all about to know, what to do and how to do it. The challenge comes, when you try to pick those training and mentoring, which fits for you, because the information overflow is so huge. The target is to narrow down the amount of ideas to be able to make internet income.

1. You Get Internet Income, When You Follow The Guidance.

Which guidance should you select? That is a good question and you should spend enough time to go trough different offers and maybe ask from some good forum, where many newbies write about their experiences. The guidance also depends about your choice, i.e. how and what kind of an online business you have planned to set up.

If you just want to start to generate internet income, without any earlier expertise, it is better that you join some affiliate program, which is specialised to train the newbies. But if you have a business idea, but you do not know, how you can launch it in the Internet, you better find a good mentor, who can taylor make the launch for you.

2. You Get Internet Income, When You Meet The Customer Needs.

The truth is that the competition in the Internet is strong. The truth is also, that many marketers do a decent internet income with their online businesses. The internet business ideas take a long time to start to work, because the brand building takes time. Actually you build the trust.

It is very important to pick the first strategies carefully and to stick with the choices. This you can do by going through enough different promotion ways and to think, do I like this and can I run this promotions. But I recommend you to pick only one to be able to manage and to learn it.

Now you can take this one as your project and to start to get training to make your first internet income. You will see, that before you honestly understand the details and the deep nature of that promotion, you have to think it a lot.

Let us take one example. You decide to start with the banner advertising. Sounds easy? But when you really think it, there are lots of things to ponder. What is the medium you shall use, what target group it covers, is the price benefit ratio correct, how long should you run it etc.

3. The Forums Are Useful Places For A Starter.

The online marketing forums are places, where marketers from all levels meet. The good thing is, that you have a chance to make questions and to get lots of different answers, to ask more until you know, that you have the right answer.

The newbie needs also mental help and support, because in the start everything looks so complicated. The best supporters are the other newbies, who have gone the same route some time ago. Actually, they have good mental tips, but be careful with the professional ones. Those you have to get from the experienced marketers.

by Juhani Tontti
ezinearticles.com

How to Create Impressive Brochures for your Insurance Services

2009-09-15T02:42:00.000-07:00

Effective branding strengthens the foundation of your business and leaves a permanent mark on your client's brain. You can do this by promoting your services using brochures. Brochures serve as a vehicle of communication between your insurance company and your clients. Therefore, you must create a brochure specifically designed for your ideal client base. Impressing Clients with Insurance Services Brochures.

* Organize marketing information. Effective communication can be achieved if your brochure is focused on one main idea. Having a single message in mind helps you to revolve all the other elements around it, giving your promotional materials a sense of direction and consistency. Readers are most likely to scan the content of your brochures, so do not crowd your prints with too much information. Put emphasis on your key points and use bullets for easy reading.

* Avoid technical jargons. Writing a brochure copy using technical jargons make sense to your company, but not to your clients. You may think that jargon seem impressive, because they make you sound like an expert. Truth is these terms make it difficult for clients to relate to your message. Instead, talk to your readers using their language so you can easily connect with them-choose simple words.

* Be informative, realistic, and enthusiastic. Your brochures serve as sources of valuable information about your insurance services. They should answer your client's question and give them a better understanding of your company. Refrain from making promises you cannot keep, because doing results to losing your client's trust. Give them reasons to continue reading by providing an informative yet entertaining content.

* Come to UPrinting! Make your brochures impressive from the content up to the printed material by seeking the expertise of UPrinting. Our top-of-the-line brochure printing service is guaranteed to provide you with durable and professional-looking brochures at a very reasonable price. Visit our website now to learn more about our excellent printing services.

Leaving a good lasting impression to your clients is possible with brochures designed and printed close to perfection. Take your time and effort when you print brochures to achieve favorable results. It would also be best to print online with UPrinting for a more convenient brochure printing.

by Girlie Nuqui
With a bachelors degree in Communication Arts and a former school writer in College, Girlie Nuqui had totally found her passion as a web content writer in a printing company. And she dreams of only one thing, world peace.

How to Become a Successful Photographer

2009-09-15T02:39:00.000-07:00

Choose the college course that's right for you. You may decide to focus more on digital photography or prefer to work with film techniques. Different courses may have different areas that appeal to you.

During your course take as many pictures as possible even outside your designated work load. Keep your eyes open for any exhibitions of photographers in local art galleries and go and see as many as possible. Figure out which kinds of styles appeal to you.

Once you have achieved your qualification you need to decide what side of photography you want to work in. Does wedding or studio photography appeal to you or would you prefer to work on a magazine or in fashion photography? Once you have decided which area you want to work in you can start researching it on the internet. Find companies that specialise in areas you want to work in then contact these companies for work experience or ask them if you can go and show them your portfolio.

Be prepared to work for nothing or little in the beginning. As a photographer, your most important asset is your portfolio so when you are starting out the most important thing is getting good images for your portfolio to show potential clients or customers. Unfortunately you will probably not make a lot of money in the beginning but you will usually be able to have copies of the photographs you take for your own portfolio.

Go to as many places as possible where the opportunities for great photos may arise. Always have your camera with you, who knows when a fantastic picture may present itself?

Try and get as many people as possible to see your portfolio. Be confident about your work and if you go to an interview make sure you present yourself and your work in a professional and confident manner.

Be inspired. Take inspiration from everything around you - people, buildings, nature etc. Be passionate about what you do. People will respond to you if you are passionate about your work.

Do not turn any opportunities down, as long as they don't compromise your integrity!

Write down your objectives and where you want to go then find out how you can achieve it. What becomes clear in your head becomes easier to achieve!

by Kellie Anne
ezinearticles.com

Online Marketing Ebook - Why Write One Today

2009-09-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

Many people are looking for ways to make money online. They do so, since it's a lot easier when compared to an 8 hour job where you have to deal with a boss who keeps watching you. One of the ways that people can make money online is through writing an online marketing ebook.

Writing and selling your own online marketing ebook is a good source of income since it makes you an authority in this field and gets more potential customers to buy your other products which then converts to income for you. If you're having second thoughts about writing your own online marketing ebook, try to read some of the reasons that is listed below and then try to decide if you should pursue it or not.

Writing an Online Marketing Ebook is a Breeze!

First, it's really easy! People easily give up the thought of writing an ebook mainly because they have no skill in writing. However, before you even start getting discouraged, try to look back and you will be amazed that you can actually write a mini book! Whether it's a speech you created, an article you wrote, or a seminar you gave, it's already material for your writing career. Anyway, ebooks are just short, ranging from 20 to 40 pages only.

That online marketing ebook will not only make you credible, give you a good reputation online and who knows something more. It may even lead you to become popular! Writing a book on any subject will let you gain the respect from people who will look upon you as someone who has authority or an expert on the field. People will also want to know more about the author, making you a pseudo celebrity.

It is easier to come up with an ebook in comparison to a traditional book. You can start with a small booklet, audio cassette or a special report on anything. In time, as you begin to get used to it, you may turn into an online marketing ebook production. Furthermore, writing ebooks is inexpensive. There are no fees to pay for printing, publishing and binding. What you basically need is just a computer to write your ebook and people just download it thru the internet if they purchase it, thus eliminating the costs for purchasing paper to be used. The money you save for those things may be used in marketing your ebook.

The Cost of Writing an Online Marketing Ebook

And the most convincing reason why you should make an online marketing ebook - well, it literally pays. Imagine gaining big profit for a lesser cost! The very moment you make a sale for your first ebook, you become reputable and this gives you the authority to charge a larger fee for the next ebook that you will produce. You can even get some opportunities offline like speaking engagements in colleges or seminars or somebody may hire your services for consultation purposes. It's just like a stepping stone for other ventures that will ultimately pay off big time in the long run.

I hope by now you are already convinced to write your own ebook. Move forward to the next step and decide what topic you wish to discuss for your ebook, promote it and be ready to obtain the benefits of your online marketing ebook.

by Richard Legg
Richard Legg is providing info that you will find valuable if you want to engage in an Online Marketing Ebook.

Prasangka ...

2009-09-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Oleh: Prasety M. Brata (sang Mind Provocateur)
Cewek bule dan cowok ‘lokal’ itu lalu persis duduk di depan saya. Kemeja coklat muda digerai begitu saja menutupi kulit sawo matangnya, lengan baju digulung, rambut lurus sepangkal leher, celana hitam lusuh dan sandal gunung yang tidak baru lagi. Belum lagi kacamata hitam yang di-tongkrong-kan di kepalanya. Sorot matanya tidak berisi, namun dipaksakan. Gaya cowok seperti itu sering saya lihat di pusat pertokoan ‘pinggiran’ kalau malam minggu. Sementara itu si cewek lebih mirip selebriti dengan gaya bicara yang nampak cerdas.

“Eh buset … Apa nggak buta itu cewek ? … Masak ngelaba cowok kayak gitu ? … Cewek itu pasti nggak bisa bedain cowok Indonesia yang oke sama yang nggak. Jangan-jangan cowok itu ……....”

Ketika bakso yang saya pesan datang, saat itulah saya tersadar. Saya merasa bersalah dan beristighfar. Saya telah menghujat orang dalam pikiran saya. Saya menghujat berdasarkan ‘pengadilan’ yang saya ciptakan sendiri dalam pikiran saya. Saya menjatuhkan vonis bahwa cewek itu ‘bodoh’, dan cowok itu ‘nggak bener’. Padahal, siapa tahu mereka memang suami isteri. Siapa tahu cowok ‘kumal’ tadi sebenarnya orang hebat. Saya tidak akan pernah tahu persis sampai saya tanya langsung kepada kedua orang itu.

Rupanya ini yang disebut prasangka. Prasangka memang bisa berbahaya. Orang mengerjakan sesuatu (what you do) tergantung dari bagaimana ia memandang sesuatu itu (what you see). ‘What you see’ atau populer dengan ‘paradigma’ dibentuk oleh informasi-informasi yang dirangkai sehingga bermakna. Paradigma seperti peta. Kita menelusuri wilayah yang sebenarnya (realitas) dengan peta itu. Pembuat peta itu adalah kita sendiri.

Kita membuat peta itu dengan menggambarkan sebuah wilayah berbatas, seperti peta buta. Lalu kita mendapatkan atau mencari informasi tentang gunung, lembah, sungai, hutan, sawah, jalan, tebing, untuk kita letakkan di peta buta itu. Semakin persis peta itu dengan wilayah yang sebenarnya, semakin benar peta itu, dan semakin kita yakin perjalanan kita bakal lancar. Persoalannya adalah, pandangan kita terkadang terbatas atau pandangan kita terhalang. Seperti ada awan yang menutupi. Akibatnya, tidak semua wilayah bisa terlihat.

Karena informasi dari ‘wilayah yang sebenarnya’ (realitas/fakta) terbatas, sementara kita butuh fakta-fakta di depan kita untuk memperjelas peta, maka akhirnya kita memproduksi informasi dengan bahan baku yang berasal dari pengetahuan dan pengalaman masa lalu kita sendiri. Bahasa lugasnya “mengira-ngira”. Kalau seumur hidup kita cuma tahu Jakarta lalu kita menggambar peta wilayah Papua, maka mengira-ngira berdasarkan pengalaman geografis di Jakarta mungkin menjadi tidak berguna.

Belum lagi jika ada bias penglihatan. Dasar kolam yang dalam tampak terlihat dangkal. Benda ’mati’ kasat mata saja bisa tampak bias, apalagi manusia.

Peta yang saya buat untuk memandang perilaku cewek bule dan cowok lokal tadi, jelas berasal dari pengalaman saya di masa lalu, dan belum tentu sama dengan realitasnya. Itulah sebabnya Tuhan menyuruh kita untuk menjauhi kebanyakan prasangka, karena sebagian prasangka itu ternyata bisa membawa kita kepada dosa. Kalau kita bertindak didasari oleh prasangka, lalu ternyata realitasnya berbeda, sementara akibat tindakan kita ada pihak lain maupun diri sendiri teraniaya, berdosalah kita.

Saya jadi ingat cerita salah seorang dosen saya, Pak Muchlis Alimin. Ada seorang pria kaya di sebuah desa yang ingin tampil beda. Ia ingin punya sesuatu yang tidak dimiliki orang lain. Ia lalu beli mobil cadillac merah --- mobil yang belum pernah ia lihat ada di daerahnya. Ketika mobilnya dipacu kencang di jalan yang membelah perkebunan di perbukitan, tiba-tiba muncul dari sebuah kelokan seorang gadis manis juga memacu cadillac merah ke arah berlawanan. Si pria menjadi ‘panas’. Ia tidak menyangka, sekaligus tidak suka, ada cadillac lain menyaingi kepunyaannya. Begitu perpapasan, si gadis sambil melihat ke arah pria itu berteriak : “babi !!!!”. Si pria terkejut dan marah diteriaki babi. Dengan emosi tinggi, ia menengok ke arah gadis, mengangkat jari tengahnya, dan berteriak membalas : “babi jugaaa !!!” …. Dalam hitungan detik, tiba-tiba cadillac merah si pria itu menabrak serombongan babi yang menggerombol menyeberang jalan. Mobil itu terjungkang ke jurang ……

“Mari mas, ke Dagadu – langsung grosirnya, pulang balik dua ribu …..” Tawaran seorang tukang becak memecah lamunan saya. Saya melanjutkan langkah menyusuri trotoar Malioboro... Tenggelam di lamunan lainnya ...

sumber:
PROVOKASI, Menyiasati Pikiran Meraih Keberuntungan
Penulis : Prasetya M. Brata
Penerbit : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Untuk baca artikel/judul lain silahkan beli bukunya ya..
Bisa membantu pola fikir kita agar bermanfaat.
atau lihat di blognya untuk artikel yang up-to-date di : http://provokasi-prass.blogspot.com/

How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt Today!

2009-09-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Are you struggling just to make those minimum monthly credit card payments? You are not alone! The average American has $10,000 in credit card debt today. If you are able to make the minimum monthly payments it will take 40 years to pay off $10,000 worth of credit card debt! That's right, 40 years! Now you know why your balance never seems to decrease!

Let's break that down even further. Suppose you went to the grocery store and decided to use your credit card to buy $100 worth of groceries. That's probably about a week's worth of food. Do you realize that it will actually take you 4 years to pay that $100 off by making only the minimum payment? That's right, 4 years to pay for 1 week's groceries! Shocking and outrageous isn't it?

Credit companies made more than $17 Billion Dollars last year on the interest they charge their card holders. They keep getting rich while we continue to struggle. The government has stepped in and put a limit on the amount of interest they can charge, but that won't help your current balance! But they have passed new laws that will help you now!

You no longer have to file bankruptcy to get relief from credit card debt! Bankruptcy will destroy your credit for years to come; it is not a viable option for anyone! Don't be fooled into thinking it is your only avenue for relief!

There are companies out there that are using the newly enacted laws to help you eliminate up to 50% of your credit card debt immediately! It's legal, ethical and for thousands a real chance to get control of their finances! You do have to do your homework and make sure the company you choose is legitimate! Unfortunately there are far too many unscrupulous people out there all too willing to run a scam and steal your money! Be aware and check with the better business bureau before deciding on any credit counselor!

By Sheri Baker Platinum Quality Author
ezinearticles.com

Generasi Muda Arab, Generasi Facebook

2009-09-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Demam Facebook terjadi di semua penjuru dunia. Tidak terkecuali di negara-negara Arab. Pekan lalu, sebuah kajian dan penelitian menyatakan bahwa saat ini generasi muda di tanah Arab telah berubah menjadi generasi Facebook.

Penelitian ini dilakukan oleh Islam Hijazi, sebuah badan peneliti di Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Politik di Universitas Kairo, dan juga International Centre for Future and Strategic Study in Cairo. Penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa generasi muda Arab telah berhasil menjadi generasi baru yang tidak popular, dari sebuah masyakarat sipil yang berbasis pada realitas, menjadi generasi internet yang kebablasan.

Penelitian ini menyebutkan bahwa Facebook adalah platform dasar bagi Mossad—agen rahasia Israel—untuk merekrut generasi muda Arab sebagai penentang pemerintah dan tanah airnya. Islam Hijazi mengatakan bahwa Facebook adalah sebuah cara baru penerapan demokrasi dalam pikiran anak muda Arab yang tak bisa dikendalikan lagi. Dengan cara bertukar pikiran dan ide, generasi muda Arab hidup dalam atmosfer demokrasi digital.

Saat ini seperti kita tahu, pengguna Facebook terus meningkat. Pekan lalu, penggunanya sudah mencapai jumlah 250 juta di seluruh dunia. Di Arab sendiri, Facebook sudah menjadi sangat fenomenal, dengan kesadaran yang sangat rendah dari para pemakainya.

Menurut Islam Hejazi saat ini para pengguna Facebook disulap menjadi para aktivis virtual. Mereka tidak merepresentasikan kenyataan dan permasalahan dunia yang sebenarnya.

Misalnya saja, ketika ada sebuah kejadian yang menimpa umat Islam, maka mereka cukup dengan menyimpan bela sungkawa, kecaman, atau gagasannya di dinding Facebook, dan sudah, mereka merasa aman akan kewajiban lain, tak ada lagi yang mereka lakukan selanjutnya. Dalam arti lain, menurut Islam Hejazi, para penguna Facebook di Arab yang berusia muda hidup dalam dunia yang penuh kepalsuan.

Pemerintah negara-negara Arab sudah merasakan ancaman ini. Generasi muda Arab tengah beralih dari generasi yang disekam menjadi generasi penuh kebebasan yang semu. Beberapa tahun ke depan, kemungkinan generasi muda Arab ini menjadi generasi yang tak punya skil nyata dalam kehidupan mereka, dan mereka layak disebut generasi Facebook. (sa/dlhyt)
Sumber: http://eramuslim.com/berita/dunia/generasi-muda-arab-generasi-facebook.htm

Powerful Visualization Secrets

2009-09-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

One of the kindest persons I’ve ever met has shared with me some of her visualization secrets to get what you want in life. I want to share them with you too:

1. If you visualize, you have to be in the picture. Example, you visualize a car, its type, model, color, etc. BUT What you should be doing is to visualize yourself riding or driving the car of your dreams.

She said before, she used to visualize a silver suv; what happens is that she sees so many silver suvs passing by, without her in it!

2. It helps if you do visualization at a specific time and do it regularly. DON’T do it just once in a while, then easily give up.

3. Don’t be shy in making a request from the universe. Don’t think you can’t ask for more if you have so many blessings already.

We are encouraged to dream big, and everything that we need is already within us.

4. You can also inject fun in doing visualizations. She says, “My seatmate sees herself jumping up and down while doing the task she is thinking of. Injecting an element of fun encourages you to do it repetitively.”

5. Think pictures. She says, “I have been affirming that ‘I am a friendly person’ but I cannot picture it out in my mind. So I have to create an image that relates to that like I am smiling and shaking hands with a person I just met.”

“Like if you say ‘I am rich’ you have to ‘materialize’ it. What does being rich mean to you? Is it seeing in the computer so many people ordering your products? Encashing checks? It should be an activity.”

6. You have to really desire, believe, and accept. You desire the thing or activity with passion, you believe that it will be yours (that this or something better will be given), and accept it.

Don’t be afraid. Acceptance is being prepared for all the attachments and responsibilities that goes with what you asked for.

7. Visualization must be done repeatedly. Initially, you may doubt that it is impossible for you to get what you ask for. But as you do it repeatedly, you tend to “hypnotize” yourself and believe what you are saying. Repetition causes you to focus on your goal.

8. You can do it with your eyes open! You don’t have to do meditations (like you need to hear gongs, go through the colors of the rainbow, or say “ommm”) first to be able to go into the alpha state. You just need to be relaxed and just have the image in your mind.

by: Michael Lee
Michael Lee is the author of “How to be a Red Hot Persuasion Wizard…in 20 Days or Less”, an ebook that teaches powerful persuasion techniques on how to tremendously enhance your relationships, boost your profits to the next level, and get anything you want…just like magic.

How to Generate Cash Online - With Little Or No Investment

2009-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Everywhere you go nowadays on the Internet there's someone trying to entice you, someone trying to persuade you into believing that what they have is what you want. That it is necessary for you to pay $29.99 or $49.99 for their product or service in order to be successful online.

This is just not the truth, while there are many opportunities one can invest in, their are other opportunities that also require little or no investment at all. If you're new to the Internet and have not been surfing for a decent amount of time you have a huge learning curve to get past, there is a revelation that you need to receive which provides the understanding that 90 to 95% of all the income opportunities presented before you on the Internet arena or nothing but hyped up scams that promise success by only leaves sadness in the hearts of those that are seeking success like you and I online.

After you get past that you have to reprogram you're thinking because you understand that it's not about reinventing the wheel but it's about following step-by-step systems, and modeling yourself after successful people. I say all this because if you don't get this understanding years of your time money and efforts on the Internet will be wasted on scams and half truths that will not get you anywhere.

Finding real opportunities

Like I said before the way you find real programs and discover real opportunities is to model yourself after successful people or model yourself after successful systems. There is what the Internet calls affiliate programs that provide a proven track record to deliver real opportunities for people that have little or no income to invest. With

affiliate programs there is no website that is required there is no product that you need and there's no merchant account that you have to possess, all you need is the ability and the perseverance to advertise and promote a vendor's product. In exchange you will receive a portion or percentage of the transaction into your account.

The truth about making real income online, income that you can really be proud of is not seeking to advertise someone else's product but rather developing your own. Where you have your own website product or service, where you can receive credit card transactions and other merchant benefits, having your own advertising in place and branding yourself in your own specific niche.

Making money with AdSense

When you've arrived in this position you can now start making money by having ads placed on your own website, google will literally pay you to stick other people's advertising on your promoted website, this does not cost you any money and is 100% profit, there are other unique ways to make money when you have established yourself as a seasoned Internet marketer.

Until then focus on what works, focus on a proven method and strategies that you can duplicate while getting past the Internet learning curve and building your empire online.

> by Troy D. Johnson
> ezinearticles dot com

Insure Your Health Today

2009-09-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

Health is wealth; and rightly so; if one is healthy, it is only then that one can experience the true pleasures of life. The fast paced life these days has taken a toll on almost all of us. Heart attacks, high blood pressure, among other diseases have victimized many of us, and the humongous health care expenditure has burnt a hole in our pockets.

Health insurance companies provide an answer to all our insurance needs by providing the most apt health insurance schemes for their clients. These policies provide complete health coverage. Health care online is also made available to make the insurance an easy process, which is accessible to one and all. These online insurance products are extremely easy to buy and use. The whole process is extremely simple and does not involve any medical examinations at all.

The health policy is issued either to an individual, or a family, and the duration of this health coverage is for one year. The family health coverage includes spouse, dependent, children and dependent parents. The health care provides health coverage to individuals from the age of 5 years to the maximum age limit of 50 years. It may be noted that the health coverage of a child dependent would only start 91 days after both the parents are covered under this health policies. The premium for health insurance packages depends upon the age of the Insured person and the sum insured option he or she chooses.

Health care online makes it easy for the prospective buyers to get in touch with the executives, who guide them about the best health policy; suiting their needs and requirements. The health insurance products offered have a number of benefits including in-patient treatment, pre-hospitalization, post-hospitalization, day-care procedures, organ donor, etc. As per this health care , the person insured can claim 100% hospitalization expenses. Insured under this health policy, an individual can also avail medical expenditure for Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy treatment; up to 10% of the sum insured.

If you are looking for the best health insurance, you can surf the net to find a plethora of options to suit your needs and requirements. What makes these health care policies more attractive are the special discounts that are offered to the clients. Though there are a number of companies, which provide health insurance schemes in the market. You can save time by purchasing health insurance online.

by By Mark Summers | ezinearticles.com

SMS Marketing - The Better Way of Communication by Kathe Marion

2009-09-03T03:08:00.000-07:00

Mobile marketing has become one of the hottest choice for most of the leading companies. Even the newer business concerns are showing a lot of interest in this latest technology of marketing strategy. This not only helps in making a large scale but also it is the cheapest and less time consuming way of communicating with your customers. If you are a mobile user then you must be aware of the fact that you receive some SMS each or in some days interval telling you about the various new product launch.

This a much preferred way of communication by the various companies as SMS is a much more discreet method than telephonic conversation. And this is also a great tool to make your customers aware of the new launches without disturbing them. This is also less time consuming in comparison to any telephonic conversation. Therefore if you are using SMS marketing strategy instead of phone call or email you need not spend a lot of time in making the customer understand what you want to say and even sometimes disturbing him. It is even better than instant messaging and email, therefore you need not stay connected to the computer all the time.

There are several advantages of SMS marketing. As it is considered to be a spam free mode of communication in comparison to email, the delivery of your message is more certain than an email which may land up as a junk mail. However, because of the store and forward service of the SMS, the message does not go directly to the client's cell phone. In this case the advantage is that there is no need for the client's cell phone to be active or in range for you to send the message. The message gets stored in the SMSC for days if necessary, and is delivered only when the cell phone is turned on or gets into the range. Therefore because of these reasons it is almost certain that your message would be successfully delivered to your client sooner or later. This is also a very special reason for which SMS is a much preferred technique of marketing these days.

Not only this but there are also some other advantages of SMS marketing strategy. And that is in the form of Bulk Short Message Service. The Bulk SMS service is a very useful thing for every company. There are also several advantages of it. In the first case the company can easily issue immediate alerts to their employees about the emergencies and critical situations. It is also useful in delivering any updates or messages to roaming employees, such as sales people or technicians on the road. The Bulk SMS service also helps in sending important information to key customers or suppliers, with almost the assurance that they would receive the information immediately. On the other hand the company can also send greetings to their clients and suppliers on various festivals or other occasions.

Therefore it is easily presumable how advantageous the bulk SMS service is to the several companies. Because of this better communication technology the company can communicate with the people related to them any time necessary.

ezinearticles dot com

Free Computer

2009-09-03T03:01:00.000-07:00

Like many others, I always want a free computer. The best part is that you really can get one online today! I know that many people will say that these are scams, that these do not work, and that people are selling themselves to be let down. This is all untrue. I know, I am typing this article using my free laptop computer.

Maybe you have a physical ailment and therefore disabled and cannot work. Maybe you are a college student, a kid, a teacher, unemployed, or maybe you just don't make enough money to buy one. No matter what the issue is, you can get everything for free online. One time I even bet my own brother that within 2 months, I would have a free computer in his lap. If he won, I lost an hour of my time, If I won, he would give me $100 dollars and would keep the laptop. 4 weeks later, I was one hundred dollars richer.

To receive a computer, and quickly, and for nothing, I recommend you to check out freebie type websites. These are sites that take in customer reviews, feedback, and general survey questions. So you may now be wondering, well, how do they make money in order to give away free products? Well, that is easy. Do you think businesses such as HP, or Dell just sell laptops to everyone? No, they surely do not. They study demographics and they find a lot of this information from these types of sites. I recommend you to check them out today!

So you want that computer today, don't you? The easiest way is to check out Free Computer and http://www.freelaptopspronto.com... What are you waiting for??

- by Kelsie Polsier -
ezinearticles.com

Can You Get Smarter?

2009-08-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Can you get smarter? - Yes, you can.

Wouldn't it be useful to be able to quote famous speeches at will or to reach into the vast chasm's of your mind and pull out facts and statistics?

I think so!

It Is Possible?

After high school and university, we don't put our mind under such intense scrutiny and when this happens we lose intellectual power.

The real key is Work - Yes, work, it's hardly glamorous and yet it's the mainstay of a sharp mind. You need to constantly give your mind the work it needs to stay "in shape".

Just like a retired body builder loses muscle mass after he gives up the competitive sport, a mind that stops being used will slowly retire.

What Can We Do?

Train your brain - Find healthy hobbies that require a little cerebral effort such as; word puzzles, sudoku I.Q test or anything that you can take an interest in.

Anything that keeps your mind sharp can help you Increase Your IQ

What If We Don't?

Sorry, but it's use it or lose it!

The less you use the cerebral space between your ears, the less it works, it's a sad fact of life.

Can We Improve?

Absolutely - If you strengthen the old gray matter then you can improve your mental performance above and beyond what you ever have achieved.

Exercises are available that can help train your brain and there is some really good advice out there.

If you want it bad enough you can get smarter and keep the mind you have in sharp, snappy condition. Don't just let your mind rust and your memory power decay.

Do something about it before it's too late!

Take a course, train your brain, or even just read more. Reading is a proven winner in boosting the vocabulary and helping to establish intelligence in the young and keep the intellect alive in the elderly.

Why waste an opportunity to keep your faculties and precious memories alive.

The thought of mental disintegration scares the life out of me, but maybe that's because my job makes me heavily reliant upon keeping sharp.

How About You?

- by A.J James -

The Key to Good Driving

2009-08-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Driving is something we all have to face when we are stepping out of childhood and into adulthood. We all are going to have to go through getting our learners permit and finally, our license. Whether we are scared, excited, or just unemotional about getting our privilege to learn to drive, there are a lot of pointers you could use to make your whole driving experience safer and more successful. You won't be getting any awards for it just like you wouldn't get any NKY plaques or Florence t-shirts, but you will get the satisfaction of being able to be independent from your parents finally. The following are some tips to be good at driving so you can cruise anywhere.

One of the first things you need to do while driving is always drive defensively. You must drive like you can't trust the other drivers on the road. Assume that all of them might do anything wrong at any second. This way, you will be able to anticipate their wrong moves at any time. You would also never be caught off guard so there will be fewer accidents or even none. When you get to a green light in an intersection, a busy one at that, make sure that you always check to see if any one will come driving through and run the stop light. This often happens and is one of the leading causes of car accidents each year. So to stay away from this, you must set your defenses at all time and not let yourself get carried away with the new found freedom of driving.

Another thing that you need to be aware of while starting out on the road is distractions. You must be able to minimize distractions as much as possible. You can take your cell phone with you, but you should either keep it off or away from you. This is just in case you feel tempted to reach for it to answer a call or a text while driving. Any of these actions are extremely hazardous and could ultimately lead to a car accident and pain for you and possible others who could get involved. Now you wouldn't want this to happen would you? I'm sure no one would wish this kind of pain and horror on anybody especially when the blame would be all on you for letting yourself get distracted in the car.

Another thing to do is to watch out for the small things. They all may seem a little bit unimportant, but believe the fact that they all add up to be very vital in your journey in driving. These little things include, your blinkers, your breaks and can even be as miniscule as your windshield wipers. Make sure your breaks work well and effectively so that you don't run into any problems.

Helpful tips to remember when you first get out on the road. There are so many obstacles you will need to overcome, but there is hope of avoiding them and becoming the supreme driver. When you get out there, keep these pointers in mind and you are guaranteed to be a safe and skillful driver.

- Connor R. Sullivan -

Three Fun Games For Kids

2009-08-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

If you are a parent you know that keeping children with a lot of energy entertained can sometimes be a real challenge. And finding a happy medium between indoor and outdoor activities is an even bigger challenge.

If you are a kid reading this then you too are probably looking for some fun new games to play.

So let's cover some games that might be new to you and that you might want to try.

FlingSock

There are a number of games that can be played with a FlingSock. Just what is a FlingSock? It is a Fun Gripper Bean Bag which is attached to a long tie dye nylon fabric tail which has a handle. There is also a smaller version called a Mini-FlingSock.

FlingSocks are easy to throw and easy to catch.

One game that can be played with the FlingSock is called "Drop The FlingSock". In this game everyone gathers into a large circle and someone from the group is chosen as "it". This person goes around the outside of the circle and tries to drop the FlingSock behind someone in the circle without being tagged. Once dropped he or she walks fast or races around the circle into that person's position without being tagged. If not tagged then the other person becomes "it" and the game continues.

Other games that can be played with FlingSocks are: Fling-et, FlingSock or Beanbag Baseball, FlingSock or Beanbag Tag, Pass The FlingSock, Where's The FlingSock, Jump The FlingStock and FlingSock and Beanbag Toss.

Bean Plates

This is an inexpensive game that is good to help your child learn multiplication. Simply get some small paper plates and some dried beans; pinto beans work well. For example use 3 paper plates and place 2 beans in one plate and 5 beans in the second plate. Then ask the child to place the number of beans that is 2 x 5 in the 3rd plate. This is a fun and visual way for a child to learn multiplication.

Whipped Cream Writing

This game is great for helping your child learn to write. Place a piece of wax paper on a play table and then spread whipped cream on the wax paper. Then let your children write their name, numbers or other words in the whipped cream. And with this game you don't have to worry about them licking their fingers.

These are just three fun games that will not only entertain your children they will help them learn to interact and play with others plus have some good educational pluses as well. We'll cover some more games in another article; so stay tuned.

- Jackie Beem -

How To Make Money with a FREE Blog

2009-08-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

There are 2 kinds of blogs. One kind is hosted on your own server/hosting account and is created by installing a script and then customizing the template and then adding your own content.

The 2nd type of blog is hosted by a service and all you have to do is sign up for a free account and start adding content.

If you have a budget that is very small or zero, and you are looking for a way to start making money on the internet, blogging is a great way to get started. You can make money with a free blog by adding Google Adsense, and promoting affiliate products.

The following are 10 online safest techniques, suggestions and tips for Blogging

1. first think of your goals and your resources.

2. Go to http://blogger.com and open an account. It's free...

3. Once your account is open, create a new blog using your chosen key phrase as you Blogger sub-domain. Select a template to use.

4. Set the Blog title to be exactly the same as your key phrase. Create a description that contains your key phrase in it at least once.

5. Find affiliate programs for high-quality products in your niche. Create affiliate links for these products and insert them into your sidebar on the template where it says "Links".

6. Insert links to other blogs, related news, etc. at the bottom of each post using your key phrase somewhere in the anchor text of the link.

7. Submit your blog to as many of these blog and rss feed directories as possible.Use your key phrase in the title and at least once in the Description if you are able to enter one.

8. Go to http://yahoo.com and set up an account if you don't already have one. Add your RSS feed to your "My Yahoo" account as a news feed you want to monitor.

9. You will need to add RSS Beta to your My Yahoo content if you don't have it. For more info on how to do that, go here: http://my.yahoo.com/s/rss-faq.html and add it. You will now add your blog into the RSS feed in my yahoo. To do that, click on edit in the RSS feed section. Enter the url of your blog.

10. Go to MSN.com, create an account, and do the same. To do that, enter your blog URL with "atom.xml" appended to the end of it where it says "Search for content to add".

Aside from the fun it brings, blogging can also give you profits even if you are not a businessman. In fact, there had been many people of different jobs that claimed to have gained benefits through their blogs. There are many ways one can profit through blogging.

1) - Trade Advertising - the most common way to generate income through your blog is by means of selling spaces in your blog to business institutions. Through this, you may directly consistently earn money.

There are bloggers that offer the spaces in their blogs for a certain period. This would mean that a space can expire depending on the agreement of both the blogger and the business institution. You just need your blog to be known in order to garner more business institution to advertise in your blog.

2) Trade the Products of Others - This sounds illegal but its not. On this type of profit making, you're actually helping businessmen sell their products. There are companies that offer equivalent compensation to bloggers who mentions their product in their blogs.

Through it, the company may have a larger chance of selling the product. The product and company that one will mention in his blog will be highlighted. Whenever a reader clicks on the highlighted product or company, the reader will have direct access to the seller.

3) Ask for Contributions - there is no limit in blogging except those moves that are abusive to others. You may initiate and make a club through your blog and ask your members to pay for the membership.

Think of a good service that you may offer to your members. It can be a finding-your-match service or whatever that comes out of your mind. Let them pay for the service you are offering and that's how you profit.

4) Sell Your Products and Services - Enough of the boxed idea that blogging is solely made to air opinions. You can make use of your blog to market you products and services to others. These can help your earn money anyway.

There are many people out there who made use of the bogs to find the products and services they want. This is because in blogging people are actually dealing in real time. In addition to that, hoaxing and fraud is very minimal in blogging since people do negotiate personally and directly.

- Anne-Marie RONSEN -
goarticles dot com

Why is Branding a Must?

2009-08-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

Everyday there are people online that are branding themselves in the wrong way. Plus when you first here about it you don't realize what they are talking about until you missed the boat. Branding means in the online business world, "YOU ARE THE LOGO". So when you are ordering something online and you don't know who they are, I like to call them ghosts. Imagine, you are buying something from someone that doesn't have a name brand to back themselves up.

Here's some famous brands that have their own branding, WAL-MART, SAM'S, TARGET,etc. Do you see how important branding is? You need to promote yourself as a leader that will help those out when they are in need of something that you have that they want. Being a leader can be a daunting task, but if you think about it everyone is a leader in their own way. Example : Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, etc... The list can go on and on...

So branding is being a leader and how you promote yourself! You don't want people to know that you are Mr. Perfectionist, because that can be a major turnoff. Because everyone knows that humans are humans and humans make mistakes somehow and down the road somewhere. So keep in mind, How you want to brand yourself? How do you want people to know you as? What are your GREAT qualities that you can shine with. The greatest thing to relate to this point is : What do people tell you that you are good at. Say for instance they tell you - you are a good speller, or you can speak well in public places, etc. It's things like this that is a good starting point to - to branding yourself.

Well let me know what your input is on this...Hoped this helped.

Kuuipo Faletogo
ezinearticles dot com

Police nab suspected terror broker

2009-08-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

National Police Spokeman Insp. Gen. Nanan Soekarta shows journalists a photo of terror suspect Mohamad Jibril (aka Muhamad Ricky Ardan), in Jakarta on Tuesday. Police arrested Jibril on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the July 17 bomb attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

National Police arrested Mohamad Jibril on Tuesday for his involvement in channeling money to fund the July bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

National police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, said that Jibril, also known as Muhammad Jibriel Abdul Rahman and Muhamad Ricky Ardhan, was arrested in Jakarta for his alleged role in seeking funding for the bombings both domestically and from abroad.

“He was arrested by officers from the special counterterrorism squad and is currently being questioned,” Nanan said.

The police, he said, were intensifying efforts to crackdown on the financial sources of the bombings a day before they officially declared the Saudi Arabian national, Ali Muhammad bin Abdullah alias Al Khalil "Ali", a suspect involved in the financing of the Jakarta hotel bombings.

However, Nanan refused to elaborate further on where Jibril was being detained.

“We have confirmed the recent bombings were funded by foreign sources.

"Whether they were funded by al-Qaeda or not is still not clear. We need more time to identify where the funds originated from,” he said.

Jibril is the son of Muhammad Iqbal, alias Abu Jibril, a Muslim cleric who was deported from Malaysia some years ago after being linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical group connected to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda.

Abu Jibril now lives in Witana Raharja Housing Complex in Pamulang, Tangerang, Banten.

Several years ago, he was detained at the National Police headquarters for two weeks after a bomb exploded in his front yard.

However, he was later released after the police failed to find evidence linking him to terrorist activities.
Knowing that his son was being targeted by the police, Abu Jibril recently traveled to the National Police headquarters to seek clarification.

“I am here partly to protest as I am sure that my son is innocent,” he said.

Muhammad Haryadi, one of Jibril’s lawyers, said that until then, the Jibril family had been in the dark regarding Jibril’s whereabouts even though Nanan had acknowledged that Jibril had already been arrested by the police.

“No police officials informed us about the arrest, let alone allowed us to meet him in person,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The police have focused their investigation on the sources of funding as they believe the recent bombings required huge funds from inside and outside the country.

In addition to detaining Jibril and Ali, the police also arrested Iwan Herdiansyah for his links to Ali and other Arab nationals wanted by the police.

Iwan however, was later released as the police failed to prove he was connected to the terrorist group led by Noordin M. Top.

As for Ali, the police managed to find significant proof that he was connected to the funding of the recent Jakarta bombings.

Ali is suspected of being an international courier and of seeking donors to finance terrorist activities.

Head of counterterrorism at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, said the money used for the recent bombings could have originated from personal or charitable sources in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.

Though revelations on suspected sources of foreign funds is rare from officials, Ansyaad said the involvement of overseas donors from the Middle East had been known since the bomb attacks in Bali in 2002 and those against the Marriott hotel in 2003.

In addition to questioning Ali and Jibril, Nanan said the police were also pursuing several other people of Middle Eastern descent who had fled after learning of Ali's arrest.

- The Jakarta Post -

Manusia Tidak diciptakan kecuali untuk mengabdi kepada Allah

2009-08-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

Oleh
Dede meki mekiyanto
Dan aku tidak menciptakan jin dan manusia melainkan supaya mereka mengabdi kepada-Ku. Aku tidak menghendaki rezki sedikitpun dari mereka dan Aku tidak menghendaki supaya mereka memberi-Ku makan. Sesungguhnya Allah Dialah Maha Pemberi rezki Yang mempunyai Kekuatan lagi Sangat Kokoh. (Q.S. Adz Dzariat:56-58)

Pembaca yang budiman, Mungkin diantara kita sering mendengar ayat tersebut di atas yang mungkin sebagian berfikir bahwa antara pencarian dunia dan akhirat merupakan dua ruangan yang terpisah yang tidak bercampur satu sama lain. Padahal sesungguhnya tidak, dimana setiap detik nafas kita, setiap detik langkah kita, setiap detik gerakan jari jemari kita dalam mengerjakan tugas kita baik dalam rangka mencari nafkah atau hanya sekedar mengerjakan tugas rutin, didalamnya memiliki nilai luhur yang akan dinilai sebagai kebaikan selama yang kita lakukan adalah pengabdian kepada Allah. Jadi jangan sangka kalau anda seorang ayah sedang bercanda sambil tertawa-tawa dengan anaknya adalah perbuatan sia-sia, karena sang ayah selalu berniat dan berfikir, apa yang dia lakukannya itu adalah untuk membahagiakan makhluk Allah yang masih kecil-kecil yang dititipkan kepadanya. Jadi perspektif mengabdi kepada-Ku adalah Mengabdi dengan seluas-luasnya makna, bisa bermakna mengabdi kepada pelayanan untuk hamba-hamba-Nya yang lain.

Dalam tulisan ini, mari kita belajar untuk sedikit membuka ‘kisi-kisi’ dalam belenggu fikiran kita untuk memasukkan cahaya atau nur dari makna ayat di atas, dengan mengesampingkan segala penutup kisi-kisi yang menutup fikiran dan hati kita.

Sebagai seorang pekerja di suatu perusahaan, penulis memiliki tugas-tugas pokok yang kadang menyita waktu berlebihan dan dalam waktu tertentu jika pulang ke rumah, sesampainya di rumah agak larut malam, sehingga sesampainya di rumah, mungkin hanya sempat melaksanakan shalat Isya dan tidak sempat lagi untuk Membaca Al-Qur’an. Atau misal di bulan Ramadhan, sepertinya dan rasanya begitu kurang ‘jumlah’ atau ‘quantity’ amalannya karena kesibukan. Lantas, apakah apa yang saya lakukan dalam pekerjaan dimana setiap tugas yang diamanatkan juga mengandung pelayanan untuk orang lain ini ‘mengganggu’ amalan ibadah saya? Jika saya mengingat ayat di atas, ternyata tidak. Mengapa? karena setiap detik dan nafas dalam pekerjaan yang diemban, dengan tulus dan ikhlas diabdikan agar kepentingan orang lain atau lebih tepatnya Kebutuhan Hamba Allah lain yang berhubungan dengan pekerjaan ini akan terpenuhi sehingga mereka bisa menikmati kebahagiaan yang secara langsung atau tidak langsung berhubungan dengan pekerjaan kantor.

Akan tetapi tentu ada juga yang berfikiran berbeda. Misal ada seorang pekerja kantoran, di perusahaan yang berskala besar (tentu melayani hajat orang dengan jumlah besar pula), Katakanlah karyawan itu bernama Joni dan perusahaannya adalah PT. Agung , bekerja sebagai karyawan akutansi tepatnya account payable (AP) (=bagian pekerjaan yang mengurusi pembayaran ke supplier). Suatu ketika menjelang ramadhan, mendadak si Joni ingin mengajukan cuti 1 bulan penuh ke atasannya dengan 2 alasan, pertama dia ingin puasa yang akan dilakukannya ingin dipenuhi amalan-amalan sholeh dan tidak terganggu urusan dunia (seperti pekerjaan kantor, dll) kedua, karena dia merasa berhak untuk menggunakan cutinya. Karena atasannya tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa, akhirnya selama sebulan tugas sebagai account payable (AP) diberikan kepada rekan kerja yang lain 2 orang, jadi tugas sebulan dia sebagai AP dikerjakan 50% -50% oleh kedua rekan karyawan. Sambil berlalu si Joni berkata “Sorry yah, aku mau ibadah dulu neh, alhamdulillah di approve cutinya” Apa yang terjadi berikutnya? Kedua rekan kerjanya harus menambah jam kerja hariannya sehingga setiap hari selama ramadhan mereka pulang telat karena mendapatkan kerja tambahan dari rekannya yang ‘cuti untuk ibadah’. Mereka berdua mengerjakan dengan penuh tanggung jawab, sehingga pembayaran ke supplier berjalan dengan lancar. Pembaca yang budiman, dari kisah ini mari kita lihat pada dimensi yang lain, yaitu dimensi suatu keluarga seorang mandor dari sebuah supplier kecil (misal PT. ACI) yang dibayar oleh PT. Agung. Sang mandor memiliki istri yang akan melahirkan, yang tentu akan memerlukan uang untuk proses melahirkan. Beberapa hari yang lalu, sang istri khawatir jika pada saat melahirkan, uang dari kantornya belum dibayar dengan alasan karena belum dibayar oleh PT. Agung itu. Pada beberapa jam sebelum hari H melahirkan, sang istri bertanya lagi kepada suaminya, “mas uang dari kantor sudah datang belum..?” suami menjawab, “insya Allah akan dibayar, mungkin beberapa jam lagi”. Kemudian dia berdoa kepada Allah “Ya Allah, Engkau maha mengetahui, pembayaran dari PT. Agung itu belum ada, Hamba mohon kepadaMu ya Allah, mudahkanlah pembayaran yang dilakukan PT. Agung itu kepada kami, supaya hamba bisa membantu proses lancarnya persalinan ini”. Dan pada beberapa saat sebelum melahirkan, kedua karyawan pengganti si Joni itu melakukan pembayaran sesuai tugas kepada PT. ACI, sehingga PT. ACI bisa membayarkan biaya persalinan dengan lancar kepada sang mandor. Selang berapa lama, persalinan pun berjalan lancar tandapa ada rasa khawatir mengenai uang persalinan. Kemudian, sang mandor dan istrinya berdo’a “Ya Allah, Berikanlah kebaikanMu kepada hambaMu yang membantu kami, yaitu orang yang telah melakukan pembayaran di PT. Agung ke kantor kami, sehingga kami bisa berbahagia hari ini”
Coba anda bayangkan kejadian ini, sebenarnya, siapa yang lebih beruntung? Tentu 2 karyawan pengganti si Joni itulah yang lebih bertuntung, mereka dengan ikhlas mengerjakan tugas tambahannya sehingga di tinggkat yang lebih bawah, telah mampu membahagiakan orang lain walau hanya dengan sedikit proses pembayaran ke salah satu suplier saja. Lihatlah, dengan berfikir memisahkan urusan dunia dan akhiran dengan cara seperti si Joni di atas, Joni telah kehilangan momentum kebaikan yang paling tinggi yang bisa membahagiakan Hamba Allah yang lain.

“Nilai rahasia kebaikan seorang Hamba berada di tangan Allah, bukan bergantung pada hitungan amalan versi kita sendiri/manusia.

Pembaca yang budiman, mungkin bisa kita mulai menuliskan disini beberapa contoh peninjauan segala apapun pekerjaan atau keadaan kita dilihat dari dimensi yang lain yang lebih bermakna

Pertama,
Seorang ayah yang memiliki anak yang kebetulan sedang belajar di rumah, dimana sang anak minta bantuan untuk penyelesaian persoalan yang dia hadapi, padahal sang ayah dalam kondisi lelah habis pulang kerja. Kemudian sebelum membantu sang anak, sang ayah berkata dalam hatinya, “ Ya Allah, dalam lelah tubuhku ini, pastilah Engkau telah sisakan tenaga untuk membahagiakan anak titipan-Mu, dia adalah hamba-Mu yang sedang meminta bantuan aku sebagai Ayahnya, Ya Allah terimalah kebaikanku ini sebagai tasbihku kepadamu” setelah itu, sambil tersenyum dalam lelah, sang ayah dengan antusias membantu anaknya. Dan kemudian, sang anak berbahagia karena telah mendapatkan bantuan penyelesaian masalahnya, sehingga dia bialng “terima kasih ya Ayah, aku jadi mengerti” sambil berbahagia, dia tersenyum.

Kedua,
Seorang istri yang mengerjakan pekerjaan rumah tangga di rumah, dengan penuh keikhlasan dia selalu berkata dalam hatinya, “Ya Allah, Engkau telah titipkan rumah ini kepada kami, engkau telah titipkan anak-anak kepada kami, engkau telah titipkan semua barang-barang di rumah ini kepada kami, jadikanlah sapu ini sebagai tasbihku padaMu, jadikanlah cangkir-cangkir kopi untuk suamiku menjadi shalat sunat ku, jadikanlah belayan tanganku ketika memandikan anak-anak menjadi aliran doa kepada-Mu, dan jadikanlah masakanku menjadi tahajudku kepadaMu, Ya Allah, aku abdikan segala tugas yang ku-emban ini untuk Mu”

Ketiga,
Seorang polisi lalu lintas, dia mengabdi kepada tugasnya agar kondisi lalu lintas berjalan lancar, dia tidak mengeluhkan peluh keringat, debu kendaraan dan kadang dia sering mendapatkan penghinaan dari beberapa pengendara yang tidak menaati peraturan atau malah yang terang-terangan mencemoohkan dia. Dia tetap sabar, tetap teguh pada pekerjaannya. Dalam relung hati dan fikirannya dia berkata, “Ya Allah sang penguasa Alam, maha rahman dan maha rahim, tugas yang kuemban aku abdikan hanya kepadaMu supaya hamba-hamba-Mu di jalan merasanya nyaman, dan mereka bisa beribadah kepada-Mu dengan tenang. Aku tahu jumlah shalatku sangat minim hanya yang fardhu, tetapi, jadikanlah jalan ini sebagai sejadahku sebagai shalat sunatku, jadikalah peluitku sebagai tasbihku padaMu, jadikanlah tanganku sebagai takbirku kepada-Mu, Aku ingin, semua hambaMu yang di jalan ini merasa bahagia karena tugasku.”

Keempat,
Seorang Guru yang mengajar murid-murid dengan penuh semangat dan sabar, dengan penuh keihlasan dia tetap berkata, “Ya Allah, Engkau telah menitipkan ilmuMu kepadaku dan kepada tugasku sebagai Guru, jadikanlah coretan di papan tulis sebagai tasbihku kepadaMu, jadikanlah kelas ini menjadi sajadah bagiku, Aku bergembira karena engkau telah menunjukku untuk mejadi orang terpilih untuk menjadikan hamba-hambaMu yang masih kecil ini berkembang dengan ilmuMu. Aku berbahagia karena aku bisa membahagiakan hamba-hamba-Mu yang masih kecil ini.”

Kelima,
Seorang supir angkot, Meski setiap hari melalui jalan yang sama, sangat monoton, penuh dengan debu, peluh keringat, sang supir angkot tetap berkata, “Ya Allah, Aku sangat senang dan bahagia karena selalu memenuhi kebutuhan hamba-hamba-Mu dalam perjalanan, beberapa dari mereka ingin ke Rumah sakit, ingin ke masjid dll, Akan tetapi Ya Allah, hamba tahu, jumlah shalat hamba hanya minim yang fardhu, oleh karena itu, jadikanlah mobil angkot ini sebagai sajadah untukMu, jadikanlah debu-debu ini menjadi tasbihku untuk Mu, jadikanlah senyumku kepada penumpang, sebagai sedekahku untukMu…”

Keenam,
Pajak penghasilan.
Potongan pajak penghasilan yang dipotong dari kita, sebagian besar dari kita tentu akan merasa dirugikan akibat pemotongan itu, meski menyadari bahwa pajak pada dasarnya adalah untuk kepentingan negara, tetapi sebegitu besarnya persepsi dan belenggu dalam fikiran kita dimana sering terjadinya penyelewengan pajak dimana-mana sehingga membuat sebagian dari kita TIDAK IKLASH penghasilannya di potong. Tetapi mari kita lihat dari dimensi yang lain, dengan mengesampingka kuatnya persepsi tentang penyelewengan pajak yang terjadi. Mengapa kita kesampingkan dulu? karena ini tidak menyangkut dengan mereka, tetapi ini menyangkut dengan nilai abdi kita kepada Allah (This is not about them, this is about me). Kita lihat dimensi lain, dimana akibat dari besarnya pajak yang dipotong dari kita, setelah dikumpulkan di tingkat negara, kemudian digunakan untuk keperluan orang lain (tepatnya adalah HAMBA ALLAH YANG LAIN), ada yang berprofesi guru tk, sd, sma, ada yang berprofesi mantri di kampung, ada yang berprofesi pada dinas sosial yang mengurusi hamba-hamba Allah yang kebetulan sedang kekurangan, dll, sehingga dengan biaya dari pajak tadi, maka berbahagialah Hamba-hamba Allah karennya. Sehingga dengan itu kita bisa berkata “Ya Allah, potongan pajak ini, jelaslah bukan pengurang untukku, tetapi melalui pajak inilah, aku bisa berbagi kebahagiaan dengan hamba-hambaMu yang lain yang belum tentu aku sanggup menggapainya, jangan-jangan ada hamba Mu yang sedang diujung kebinasaan, melalui pajak yang dipotong dari penghasilan ini, Engkau telah menyelematkan Mereka, dan akhirnya mereke berbahagia, Ya Allah, jadikanlah potongan pajak ini sebagai pengabdianku kepada Mu”

Ke tujuh, dst…. (silahkan teruskan…..)

Pembaca yang budiman, meski tulisan ini panjang, semoga bermanfaat.
Marilah kita belajar untuk membuka fikiran kita dari maksud ayat di atas, batasan ruang antara urusan dunia dan akhirat, hanyalah bagaimana niat dan perilakukan segala aya yang kita perbuat untuk Allah.

Boleh Jadi meskipun namanya shalat di masjid adalah untuk akhirat, dia bisa berubah menjadi dunia, ketika niat sombong dan ria menjadi utama, boleh jadi meski namanya kita bekerja sebagai tukang bengkel, bisa menjadi nilai akhirat ketika kita berniat dan memperilakukan pekerjaan tukang bengkel untuk mengabdi kepada Allah dengan cara melayani Hamba-hambaNya yang memerlukan, agar kendaraannya aman dan menyelamatkan.

"Allah-lah yang menjadikan bumi bagi kalian tempat menetap dan langit sebagai atap, lalu membentuk kalian, membaguskan rupa kalian serta memberi kalian rizki dari sebagian yang baik-baik yang demikian itu adalah Allah Tuhanmu, Maha Agung Allah, Tuhan semesta alam." (Al Mu'min: 64)

Wassalam
Dedemeki
www.fai-kao.com

PhD Student Position at Chonnam National University-Korea

2009-08-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Akangs & Tetehs,
Info
ti: Kang Ade Haryanto (1998)
di: School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Korea.

Dear All,

Semoga bermanfaat!
"PhD Student Position at Chonnam National University-Korea"

Applications are invited for a PhD student position in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) starting from March 2010 or as soon as possible. Non-Destructive Testing is now the fastest growing industry for effective evaluation of materials, structures and pipelines. The PhD student will be involved in the research work for Regional Innovation Center (RIC) at Chonnam National University in South Korea, which is supported by Korean Government and various industries. The student will be using advanced NDT diagnostics tools and software for the evaluation of materials for petro-chemical plants. The work will be implemented by the close collaboration with industries.

Expectations:
The successful candidate is expected:
â€¢ To do experimental research on evaluation of materials and solid structures using ultrasonic and other NDT techniques
â€¢ To develop the analysis software with C++
â€¢ To carry out FEM simulations of ultrasonic wave propagation, and analysis of defects in materials and structures
â€¢ To post-process measured and predicted results in conjunction with a physically-based analysis
â€¢ To compare experimental measurements and predictions to extract relevant features
â€¢ To document results and findings

Requirements:
Candidates should have a Master/Diploma degree in Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Material Science, Physics or equivalent, required to pursue a PhD-study. This should ideally be complemented by the following skills:
â€¢ Excellent academic standing
â€¢ Knowledge in solid state physics and material science
â€¢ Experience with Finite Element Analysis (FEM) and numerical methods
â€¢ Experience with programming using C or C++
â€¢ Fluent in English (minimum requirements TOEFL-80IBT, 213CBT, 550PBT or IELTS-6.5)
â€¢ Willingness to work in an inter-cultural environment

The preference will be given to the candidates who obtained Masterâ€™s Degree in NDT. Please include a list of publications in NDT, if there is any.

Successful applicant will be offered a monthly salary of 800.000 Korean Won, in addition to the full support of the tuition fees (about 6.000.000 Korean Won/year).

Please send by e-mail your request and copies of documents indicating your academic background to professor Ki-Seong Kim sngkim@chonnam. ac.kr. These documents will include your degree certificate (s), transcripts of marks achieved in previous degrees, and the evidence of English language qualifications (a copy of TOEFL or IELTS score), if your first language is not English and you do not hold a degree from an English-speaking country.

If required, the candidates may be interviewed by telephone during the selection process.

With regards,
Ade Haryanto
School of Mechanical Engineering
Pusan National University, Korea.

Mengkaji Belanja Ramadhan dan Lebaran di Carefour

2009-08-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Oleh Cardiyan HIS

Carefour bukan milik Perancis lagi. Berita bisnis sangat penting ini ditanggapi dingin-dingin saja di Indonesia, padahal sudah berlangsung hampir dua bulan. Termasuk oleh Pemerintah Indonesia (yang memang secara resmi belum memiliki hubungan diplomatik dengan Israel), yang menganggap alih kepemilikan Carefour oleh orang pengusaha Israel sebagai “business as usual” saja. Hanya ibu-ibu rumah tangga mungkin karena tidak tahu informasi ini, tak sadar terus membelanjakan banyak rupiahnya menjelang bulan Ramadhan dan Lebaran untuk memperkaya kocek bisnis orang Israel.

Carefour , adalah salah satu ikon penting Perancis di dunia disamping makanan dan minuman Danone atau mobil Renault, kini sudah menjadi milik pengusaha Israel. Kini Carefour telah menjadi milik perusahaan Koor Industries Ltd dengan harga pembelian senilai US$ 986 juta atau 3,5 miliar Shekel (mata uang Israel). Pemilik Koor Industries Ltd adalah Eli Hurvitz, pengusaha asli Israel yang sangat pro soal pembangunan pemukiman Yahudi di Palestina dan tentunya sangat anti soal Kemerdekaan Bangsa Palestina. Eli Hurvitz tentu saja bersilang pendapat dengan sutradara beken Steven Spielberg, warga negara Amerika Serikat keturunan Israel, yang justru sebaliknya sangat mendukung Kemerdekaan bagi Bangsa Palestina.

Terjadinya peralihan kepemilikan perusahaan multi nasional seperti Carefour (Perancis) ke pengusaha kakap Israel adalah memang peristiwa biasa sebagai konsekuensi perdagangan global yang bebas menembus batas negara. Masalahnya di Indonesia, Carefour mendapat keistimewaan tanpa pembatasan lokasi.

Kebijakan ini sungguh sangat berbeda dengan Carefour di negara-negara kapitalis Eropa bahkan di Perancis sendiri sekali pun tempat asalnya, tidak akan bisa ditemui keberadaan Carefour di tengah-tengah kota, di sudut-sudut strategis kota-kota besar Paris, Lyon, Marseille. Pemerintah kota mereka akan selalu tetap memperhitungkan terhadap keberadaan pasar tradisional atau tempat kegiatan ekonomi pengusaha kecil penduduk setempat.

Sedangkan Indonesia? Lagi-lagi Pemerintah Indonesia sebuah anomali membiarkan Carefour ada di pusat kota, di sudut-sudut strategis bahkan sudah tak memperdulikan lagi kedekatan lokasinya dengan keberadaan pasar tradisional tempat para pengusaha kecil Indonesia menyabung nyawa. Kasus Carefour di Indonesia boleh jadi bisa menjadi kasus riset yang menarik bagi seorang “PhD Candidate in Marketing Business”. Termasuk kepemilikan saham Carefour di jaringan retail Alfa Mart, yang telah menelan begitu banyak kebangkrutan toko-toko kecil atau warung-warung kelontongan para pengusaha kecil Indonesia. Pihak KPPU sebagai komite independen pengawasan persaingan usaha harus
memprioritaskan kasus ini.

Indonesia memang harus mengevaluasi segala keterlanjuran ini dengan sangat serius, mengkajinya secara seksama pula dengan kewajiban ketat terhadap perilaku Carefour selama ini. Misalnya beberapa lokasi Carefour di Jakarta berulang-ulang mencemari lingkungan bahkan nyaris menewaskan puluhan karyawannya sendiri karena keracunan gas buangan adalah “high-light” yang harus digaris-bawahi oleh Pemerintah kota DKI Jakarta. Sistem hubungan kerjasama dengan para pemasok dari kalangan Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM) perlu dievaluasi agar lebih adil. Kompensasi terhadap keberadaan Carefour yang berada sangat dekat dengan pasar tradisional harus segera dirumuskan untuk
sebaik-baiknya kegiatan ekonomi rakyat. Kasus Carefour yang sangat dekat dengan dua pasar tradisional di kecamatan Duren Sawit, Jakarta sungguh merupakan bukti nyata yang memerlukan perhatian Pemda DKI Jakarta.

Selamat menempuh ibadah Ramadhan, semoga Tuhan YME memberikan ridhoNya kepada ummat manusia yang menjalankan ibadahnya. Amiin.
Sumber : http://ia-itb.blogspot.com/2009/08/mengkaji-belanja-ramadhan-dan-lebaran.html

Run Your Home-Based-Business Or Online-Business Using Viral Marketing

2009-08-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

This article is dedicated to exploring the concept of "Internet Marketing", and how "Viral Marketing" can explode your home based business. The question of how this type of marketing can help you get more customers to your site can be explained in pretty simple terms.

Anybody Ever Had The Flu?

Think of "Viral Marketing" as if it was a flu bug, or flu virus. With the flu virus, one person will get the virus and transfer the flu to a second person. Then the second person will do the same and transfer it to another person and so on, until perhaps hundreds of people will have the flu. But it all started with the first person. Marketing using a viral approach is the same way.

Viral Marketing Can Cause Your Visitor Count To Sky-Rocket!

When you use viral marketing as a way to advertise your products or home-based business, it all starts with one person. Then that person will tell someone else about your product and that person will tell someone else and on and on. When the viral effect catches on, it can cause your visitor count to sky-rocket almost overnight!

Have You Ever Doubled a Penny Each Day for 30 Days?

Have you ever heard the old saying about the "doubling penny? If you take one penny and double it each day for thirty days, you wouldn't believe the total amount of money you would have after thirty days. It's in the millions of dollars! Go ahead and try it on paper. This is how "Viral Marketing" works.

What I'm trying to get across to you is "Viral Marketing" works, and that's the bottom line. Where else can you set up any kind of a home based business on a shoestring budget, and have a good chance to have your ad or message spread like wildfire across the internet. That's what all online business operators pray for. That's what it's all about. Letting as many people as possible know about your site or your product. That's when the money will start rolling into your bank account.

Everything You Need to Spread Your Advertisement!

The best and the easiest "Viral Marketing" site that I know about can be found at the site listed below. This site has everything you need to spread your advertisement all over the web with very little work on your part. This way of marketing can build a mailing list quicker than anything you've ever seen and can make you a ton of easy money. This article was written from personal experience, research and study by the author. This article may be re-printed and re-distributed as long as nothing is changed in the article and all URLs and author's name must remain intact.

by Cecil Johnston
ezinearticles.com

7 Easy Anti Aging Makeup Tips (Without the Makeup)

2009-08-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Most people who take pride in how they look and feel get so worried about the signs of aging they begin to see as they start nearing 30's and even more so, in the 40's. Well, I just turned 50!

Many think that getting older and having to face the physical challenges of aging to be the worst time of their life. But, I say it can be the best time of your life.

You don't have to look at it in such a negative way if you know how to properly look after your body and of course, your mental health.

With today's innovations and products it is a lot simpler to take care of our body. In fact, it is not difficult at all. All you need to do is find and stick to a simple routine that will make you feel refreshed and great all the time.

Over time the best (and easiest) ones percolate up to the the top. So check out the following seven tips. It is never too late to start taking care of yourself and having great skin.

The 7 Best Of The Easiest

1. Drink Water The very first natural anti aging supplement is to drink lots of water every day. Water helps hydrate your skin while it also works to clean and flush away the toxins in your body. Your skin will look younger as it tends to look plumper and clearer when it is properly hydrated. So let's get drinking (water that is) to achieve that youthful and healthy glowing skin.
2. Eat Healthy The second anti aging skin care treatment is to eat a healthy and balanced diet. You are what you eat is so true. Most people just do not realize that the secret to keeping your skin quality flexible and happy is eating the right foods. That means lots of fibers, fresh fruits, and green leafy vegetables. These health food staples are a must for your diet if you want your skin to keep looking and feeling younger. Here is a bonus - these healthy food staples contain valuable minerals and vitamins which you can get naturally. No longer do you have to use dangerous procedures to help repair damaged skin tissues and cells and maintain young skin. Just remember, you must also cut out fatty, oily, and salty foods from your diet. I know it's hard - but you must do it.
3. Exercise Not just once in a while, but on a regular schedule. Exercise works wonders in keeping your skin cleared and refreshed. Plus, it makes you feel healthier and stronger. How many times do you need to exert yourself? 2 to 3 times per week. And remember, you must break a sweat for the toxins in your body to be released. Just think of having that perfectly glowing skin and sexy stronger, toned body.
4. Sun Protection That means no more tanning salons! There are so many excellent self-tanning creams and lotions available that are safe and convenient. Simply avoiding the suns dangerous rays and UV radiations will keep your skin in great shape and condition. Did you know that sun exposure is the number one factor that can damage your skin? All those young bronzed beauties will live their life with premature wrinkles and lines. If you are an outdoorsy type at the very least use a good sun screen lotion or sun block to protect your skin from the damaging rays. And let us not forget about the worst scenario - having skin cancer.
5. Social Habits If every higher taxes on social habits don't make you stop then do it for your skin. What am I talking about? Smoking and drinking beyond a normal daily intake level. The fastest way to damage your skin is to smoke. Tobacco contains dangerous chemicals that not only makes your skin age faster but saturates your body with toxins. Excessive alcohol consumptions is equally harmful to your skin health.. Your liver can only handle so many toxins and the more you smoke and drink excessively it becomes damaged. When it is no longer capable of flushing your body of toxins because of this overload your skin begins to stop glowing and takes on a sickly color and feel. Yuck!
6. Anti Aging Supplements How easy is this! And, there are so many to choose from that it is a snap to find the one anti aging supplement that works on your skin. You want to look for products that contain antioxidants and ingredients such as retinol, Vitamin C, A, and ceramides. These anti aging supplements will work wonders in repairing your skin, if it is only slightly damaged from aging.
7. Eliminate Stress Why is the last one always the one that doesn't seem easy at all? Is it really hard to keep a positive outlook in life. Life is sometimes difficult, yes. But if you keep your body in a constant state of stress, it releases chemicals that can make you physically or mentally ill. So, live a calm and stress free life. Try getting enough sleep to achieve this state of calm. Lack of sleep is harmful to your body and skin. And here is a super secret - lack of sleep not only affects your skin but your hair as well!

How to Manage and Control Anger - Effective Tips

2009-08-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

As we all know anger is not good for our health. But due to heavy workload, people sometime show their anger. Showing anger is OK, but hitting is not good. To manage anger set following objectives. Make a list of at least five behaviors that they can do to relax themselves. Deep breathing techniques will help person to control anger.

Rehearsal of the breathing exercises can control anger. Importance of this learning is depends on how person calm down prior to responding to a provoking situation. If a person is not tranquil when confronting a person who has done something to distress him, the chances that he will be winning in using his coping skills are decreased.

Discuss that one suitable answer to anger is for the person to relax. List examples of different ways people calm down. Each person should make a list of at least five behaviors that could be used to help him relax. For those persons who don't read, have them make an image list using the supplies listed above. Instruct the people on deep breathing tips and techniques. Use the information sheet to provide the people with information and instructions. Inform them that they may have to do the deep breathing on the spot without the lavishness of a calm room. Tell them to put into practice; it will be easier to do.

Talk to the people about how to suitably excuse them when they want to do deep breathing techniques. They cannot just walk away from their superior or manager when he is yelling at them. Teach the people to use an expression such as "excuse me, I have to go to the lavatory." At this point the people should practice leaving the place and going to do deep breathing in another place. Again, this will put into practice.

Remind the people that when they get upset, so do their bodies. In order to help them deal with their emotions and behaviors, they need to keep the feelings in their bodies calm. Think! Why people get angry sometimes without any solid reason. The answer is because of their bodies gat habituated to show the anger. So, controlling the anger is important for everyone. It should not be come into our habit. If it comes in our habit, it will be difficult to control anger. This will cause you failure in your career and life.

Simple Chinese Medicine - A Beginner's Guide to Natural Healing & Well-Being

2009-08-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

"Simple Chinese Medicine: A Beginner's Guide To Natural Healing & Well-Being" by Dr. Aihan Kuhn is a very good introductory text on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which also provides some very good information regarding healthy living. After reading Dr. Kuhn's biography, one recognizes her credentials for writing such a book, and after reading the book, one recognizes her ability to explain the concepts of TCM in an understandable way.

The book contains seven chapters. The first chapter is a very good overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kuhn explains what TCM is, some of the differences between TCM and Western Medicine, some history of TCM, and then a bit on the theory, sources, diagnostic methods, and treatments found in the medicine she practices.

Chapter two, Food Healing in Chinese Medicine, and chapter three, Healthy Balanced Diet and Weight Reduction, the Chinese Way, are good chapters on the importance of food for healing and for health. Kuhn provides guidelines for food healing, food balance, and eating the right foods, as well as a recommended Chinese Diet for living healthy and maintaining proper weight.

Chapter four is titled Chinese Exercises for Healing, Disease Prevention, and Good Health. This chapter focuses on Qigong and Taiji Practice and their importance to over all health and healing.

Chapter five is only four pages long and contains some basic principles of Daoist Healing. It was enough to give you a taste of Daoist philosophy and maybe encourage you to learn more.

Chapter six is probably the chapter that most Westerners will have problems with. The chapter focuses on Cancer Prevention and Healing. I strongly believe that the principles taught in TCM can help a person live healthier and most likely prevent some cancers. It's not hard to believe, we have proof that healthy living, such as not smoking, can help prevent cancer. So why wouldn't healthy living and exercise practice also help the immune system fight cancers that are attacking the body? I would not suggest abandoning Western medicine if you have cancer, and neither would Dr. Kuhn. I do think a combination of Eastern and Western medicines can have benefits that maybe only one or the other may not provide. In this chapter Dr, Kuhn demonstrates through photographs different Qigong exercises used for healing.

The final chapter, seven, is titled Chinese Medicine's Secrets of Good Health and Longevity. It focuses on living healthy through personality, balance, and harmony. The appendixes contain some common herbs and herbal tonics, various Asian healthy recipes, and some testimonials from some of Dr. Kuhn's patients.

Over all, I enjoyed this book and feel it provides some very practical advice for healthy living. It is a very good introduction to basic Traditional Chinese Medicine and a useful guidebook for incorporating some of the TCM principles into your own healthy lifestyle. I'm sure many reading this book will want to further their education by reading more advanced books on the topic, or by seeking out doctors who practice TCM to learn more. It's a very good place to start, and if you go no further, you will still learn some practical healthy guidelines to live by.

Buying DVD Storage For Your Home

2009-08-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Buying DVD storage for your home can be tricky but fun at the same time. Depending on whether you have an existing entertainment center or storage capable TV stand to handle some of the load will decide if you need a large or small storage unit. Media storage is something that is often overlooked but one thing that we all have a need for.

In this day and age big screen television purchases are on the rise and most homes will have one in the next couple years. The prices have come way down and so have the accessories to accompany them. When you are looking to set your TV room up the first thing you have to consider is if you are buying a television stand or if you just need DVD storage. There are several options in the storage realm including DVD storage cabinets, racks, towers and hanging wall shelves.

Media storage cabinets come in all shapes and sizes. They range in price and can be very expensive if you are buying brand name high quality wood. If you are wanting a stationary piece of storage furniture then you can find very nice looking cherry or mahogony DVD storage cabinets that will not only store all your DVD and CD collections but also serve as a great addition to your living room decor. There are lots of people who do not want to buy separate pieces of furniture for their media storage solutions. I am one of those people, I would rather be able to store all of mine in my LCD TV stand so I bought a nice television stand with DVD storage options built in. These are not hard to find and will come with many options such as storage shelves, drawers and many have locks on the drawers to keep your media safe.

One of the negatives about putting your media on a cabinet is that they tend to be in a high traffic area and also open for dust and sunlight to directly come in contact with your DVD collection. This is a bad thing and that's where media drawers come in very handy.

What's Wrong With Playing Video Games?

2009-08-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

There was a time in my life when I didn't care for video games at all. I had to have the radio on whether I was cleaning or doing a jigsaw puzzle and if anyone (I called them the gamers) wanted to play a game in the living room, they had to do it with the sound off. I didn't even like to hear the sound of them. (Even now I prefer the volume on the low side) They would ask me why I thought there was something wrong with playing video games. I just couldn't understand how they could sit there and play for hours. How they must have loved when I was at work. I laugh at this now and they sure won't let me live it down.

One day I came home from work and "the gamers" were playing Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. I decided that I would try it and once I learned how to use the controller I was hooked. I went from that game to Gran Turismo two. One time I played for 16 hours straight. Time sure flies when you're having fun.

I tried playing some of the golf games and I enjoyed the ones that are easy. Golden Tee and Hot Shots are my favorites. I did enjoy playing Mario Golf on the Gamecube, although I only had the chance to play it a couple of times. (I am a Playstation person.) I find that most of the other golf games are too hard for me.

One boring evening I decided to go out and rent a video game. While I was in the store I came across The Legend of Dragoon. I hadn't tried playing a role playing game yet and so I decided to try it. I didn't like the fact that you had to fight so much so I fought as little as possible. I beat the game (barely) and played it again right away. I did fight more the second time around and beat the game again. It was so much fun that I have been hooked on rpg's since and I've learned that the more you fight the better.

When someone asks me why I like to play these types of games, I tell them to think of it as watching a movie or reading a book and being part of it. You play your part as best you can and slowly work your way to your objective.

Recently I discovered that a friend of mine has The Legend of Dragoon and so I borrowed it. I wanted to remember why I loved it so much. So, I am now in the process of playing it again. Memories of my very first role playing game, life is good. I must say that after playing on the PC, the ps1 sure is slow, lol. I am still having loads of fun with it though.

Ten years have passed since I played my first rpg. Since then I have played games such as: Wild Arms, Final Fantasy, Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits, Suikedon 1-4 (with the exception of number three), Radiata Stories, Shining Tears, Atelier Iris, etc... As you can see, I am addicted to rpg's. My favorite would be Final Fantasy XI Online. Now that's a fun game. Even the fighting is a ton of fun.

I also enjoy games like Burnout Revenge. I especially liked the road rage. You can drive fast and be as reckless as you want. It's great! As mentioned earlier, I do like to play golf on occasion.

I have tried Grand Theft Auto and the only reason that I don't play it, is I don't like to kill people. I tried to drive fast without hitting anyone it just doesn't work. I don't mind killing monsters and such, but not people. I did make some people laugh, though. I know it's just a game and it still bothers me.

I cannot comment on sports games for the simple fact that I haven't tried playing any. I have watched others play them, they just don't interest me. RPG's rule for me.

I do still listen to the radio just not as much as before and I don't play video games as much as I would like to. I get to play 10-20 hours a week and I enjoy every minute of it.

I see nothing wrong with playing games as long as your priorities come first. I think that children should be limited on their game play but, I would rather my child be at home playing a game where I know he/she is safe, than out running around somewhere.

I must say that role playing games can be very addicting. Just don't forget about your personal life and always make sure that your priorities are in order. Now, If an individual gets out of bed in the morning, goes straight for their game and 20 hours later they are still playing, and they do this the majority of the time, then there might be a problem.

If you have the day off and everything is done that you needed to get done, then I say, go ahead and play your game all night. There's nothing wrong with that. Happy Gaming!

Support and Resistance - How to Profit With Technical Analysis

2009-08-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

With proper knowledge and training, the financial markets can be a consistent source of cash flow. Yet before any trading happens, a basic working understanding of technical analysis and trend identification is crucial. Support and resistance are where we begin in any discussion of technical analysis and provide the framework for learning how to spot a trend.

Here we will give basic operational definitions of these important terms and then describe how they can be used to increase profit margins.

Trend

The trend is the basic direction the market is moving. Trending patterns enable us to determine what actual market participants are doing, and respond accordingly with the proper trading strategy. In many ways, trend analysis gives us a window into the psychology of the markets, and how market participants are responding.

The stock market moves in a series of short term highs and lows, sometimes referred to as "peaks" and "troughs". It is the overall direction of these "peaks" and "troughs" that constitutes a trend. The technical definitions of these highs and lows are quite simply, support and resistance.

Support

The support area on a chart is the area beneath the overall market where buyers outweigh the sellers. Buying interest is strong enough to keep the price from moving farther down and so it reverses up again.

Resistance

Resistance on the other hand, is simply the opposite of support. It is the price level above the market where selling pressure overcomes buying making it difficult for the buyer to drive up the price.

Volume

Another critical component that relates to both support and resistance is the volume of shares being traded. Volume helps to measure the significance of a support or resistance level. If a level is formed with heavy volume, either buying or selling, that level is even more significant to our analysis.

Without understanding these technical terms, it becomes easy to trade recklessly based off educated guesses or rumors. Yet once a working knowledge of these terms is mastered, traders are able to precisely set entry and exit points and aid in choosing the correct trading strategy.

Trend, Support, Resistance, and Volume are the basic building blocks of learning and understanding technical analysis. It forms the basis of learning price patterns, and is the beginning of truly understanding the pulse of the market.

Jeffrey Ziegler
ezinearticles dot com

Power Steering Fluid - Keeping on Top of It

2009-08-01T04:36:00.000-07:00

Driving a car with power steering and driving one without it are almost like two completely different things. Sure, both entail driving, but the difference that power steering makes to the whole process is significant.

For straight line driving, and even some cornering, you may not notice a big difference, but in tight corners and when it comes to parking your car you will find that a car with power steering will make the entire process a lot more manageable and hassle-free. Thus, if you have power steering, you will want to make sure that it is in the best condition it can be. If the steering fails in your car, you will soon know about it. It is better by far to take preventative action rather than correct the problems after they happen.

The power steering in a car relies, as much as anything, on the power steering fluid. Consider the fluid to be to your power steering what the petrol is to your engine - it may not be what does all the work, but without it the work would be absolutely impossible. You need to make sure that the fluid is at the required level, and that the fluid which is there is clean and working properly. If it fails, it can damage the whole steering system, necessitating an expensive repair which will not go unnoticed in your monthly budget. It costs very little, however, to replace depleted fluid, so it makes sense to do this approximately as frequently as you would replace your engine coolant.

You should also check and replace power steering fluid if you get a hint that it is depleted. The first hint, usually, will come as you attempt to steer your car and the steering system makes a pronounced squeaking noise. Imagine dragging a chair leg across a classroom floor and you will have an idea of the noise. Check under the bonnet for the fluid reservoir which should be clearly labelled. The fluid in there should either be amber or a pinkish red color. If it is flawed it will be a darker color, leaning towards brown or black. If it is the right color but at a low level, then you need only top it up, but if it looks the wrong color it is contaminated and needs a full change.

You can purchase a tool to drain fluid from the reservoir if it is contaminated. This is something that you really cannot leave undone, as the contaminant will ruin your steering just as surely as if you drove with no steering fluid at all. Avoiding excess effort is no excuse for driving with poorly maintained fluid - it does not take long and it costs very little. Having the power steering system repaired, however, takes at least a day in the garage and costs hundreds of dollars. Taking the time out of your day to do some preventative maintenance really is a no-brainer.

by Levi Quinn

Pantaskanlah diri kita untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan

2009-07-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

Pantaskanlah diri kita untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan
Seri I : ‘WAKTU yang TEPAT’
Oleh dede meki mekiyanto

“Dan pada sisi Alloh-lah kunci-kunci semua yang ghaib; tidak ada yang mengetahuinya kecuali Dia sendiri, dan Dia mengetahui apa yang di daratan dan di lautan, dan tiada sehelai daun pun yang gugur melainkan Dia mengetahuinya (pula), dan tidak jatuh sebutir biji-pun dalam kegelapan bumi, dan tidak sesuatu yang basah atau yang kering, melainkan tertulis dalam kitab yang nyata (Lauh Mahfudz).” QS. Al-An’am ; 59

Waktu

Waktu merupakan salah satu komponen dalam perjalanan hidup kita di muka bumi ini. Seperti salah satu pepatah mengatakan ‘you have watch but you don’t have time’.
Mari kita cek dan renungkan, berapa banyak masalah yang dihadapi menjadi lebih pusing dan terasa lebih berat ketika masalah itu datang dengan pada saat tidak tepat waktunya, atau ketika kita diburu-buru beberapa hal pendukung pekerjaan kita tidak tepat datang solusinya, juga pas ketika kita memerlukan uang atau pertolongan yang sangat penting dari pihak lain (karena ketidakmampuan kita saat itu), uang dan pihak tersebut pada saat itu tidak bisa memenuhinya. Berarti bukankah hal yang namanya ‘WAKTU’ itu sangat berharga bagi kita?? Tepatnya ‘Waktu yang TEPAT lebih berharga dari apapun’. Termasuk kita meninggal pada saat ‘WAKTU YANG TEPAT’ ketika kita telah dan sedang bertobat.

So… apa yang kita inginkan..? yang kita inginkan berkaitan dengan ‘TEPAT WAKTU’ ini adalah, kita ingin selalu terlayani oleh ‘WAKTU’ yang selalu ‘TEPAT” datang kepada kita ‘TEPAT’ pada saat kita memerlukannya.

Berkenaan dengan ‘WAKTU’ ini, Sebagaimana tersirat dalam Al-Qur’an di atas, bahwa segala hal yang kita tidak ketahui, termasuk apa yang akan terjadi di depan waktu hidup kita, semuanya ada dalam genggaman Allah azza wa jalla.

Nah, mari kita tinjau sisi lain yang paling dalam pada diri kita sendiri yaitu ‘kepantasan kita selalu memperoleh keinginan untuk selalu mendapatkan waktu yang Tepat, yaitu dengan berusaha dengan cara :
‘Pantaskanlah diri kita untuk mendapatkan waktu yang tepat dari setiap detik apa yang kita perlukan’
lantas, bagaimana cara mendapatkan kepantasan itu?
Mari kita urut dengan pertanyaan berikut:

Siapa yang Maha memiliki Waktu? Jawab : Allah SWT
Seberapa seringkah kita memperhatikan waktu yang TEPAT untuk menghadap kepada-Nya? Jawab: ……
Atau seberapa Sering kita mengabaikan atau melalaikan Hak-Waktu-Nya untuk kita datang? Jawab:……..

Nah marilah kita sempurnakan ungkapan kepantasa di atas dengan membuat pernyataan sekaligus perintah pada diri sendiri dengan kalimat :
“Pantaskanlah diri kita untuk mendapatkan waktu yang tepat dari setiap detik apa yang kita inginkan, dengan cara Menjaga Hak Waktu Untuk Tuhan sang Maha Pemilik Waktu itu sendiri”

misal…. Shalat lima waktu telah ditentukan waktunya bagi orang-orang yang beriman, maka Waktu yang telah ditentukan itu adalah cerminan ada Hak Allah untuk segera diwujudkan saat itu. So, Marilah kita mejaga waktu shalat untuk selalu tepat waktu.
Sehingga dengan demikian, dengan penuh keyakinan kita akan selalu percaya bahwa, jika kita telah berhasil selalu menjaga Hak Allah untuk dilakukan pada saat yang TEPAT Waktu, berati kita TELAH PANTAS untuk mendapatkan waktu dari setiap detik yang berjalan yang kita inginkan, dan Biarkanlah Allah sang Maha pemilik waktu menempatkan kita sebagai Hamba-Nya untuk selalu mendapat pertolongan-Nya dari jalan dan waktu yang tidak disangka-sangka.

Dengan penuh keimanan, dan kekuatan keyakinan akan kuasa-Nya Allah, hadapkan wajah kita kepadanya dengan berkata..”

‘Wahai Allah Yang Maha pemilik dan pengatur waktu, Turunkanlah selalu pertolongan-Mu untukku, pada saat setiap waktu aku memerlukan pertolongan-Mu, aku yakin aku pantas mendapatkannya, karena aku selalu menjaga waktu untuk-Mu’

Smoga tulisan ini bermanfaat dan selalu mengingatkan saya pribadi khususnya
Mohon ma’af jika ada tulisan yang kurang berkenan.

Wassalam
Dede
dedemeki@centrin.net.id

Cara Berhenti Merokok dengan Cara yang Berbeda dan sederhana

2009-06-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Oleh Dede Meki Mekiyanto
Semenjak menjadi mahasiswa di Bandung kurang lebih di tingkat III (1998), saya menjadi perokok aktif sampai dengan Kurang lebih di kuarter kedua tahun 2008. Semasa itu, mungkin saya dan beberapa perokok aktif juga memiliki alasan kenapa tidak mau berhenti merokok, bisa karena alasan pergaulan, atau untuk mudah bergaul dengan customer, atau karena kegiatan proyek yang menyedot tenaga dan fikiran, dll, sehingga berbagai inputan tentang bahaya merokok atau lainnya yang mengarah ketidakbaikan merokok sangat ‘tidak mempan’ dan bahkan saya selalu memiliki alasan untuk menjawab dan mencari alasan pembenaran atas informasi itu. Mungkin sama seperti dengan para perokok yang masih aktif sekarang.

Alhamdulillah, semenjak (kurang lebih) di kuarter kedua tahun 2008, saya berhenti merokok total dan Alhamdulillah tidak memiliki hasrat untuk kembali merokok, dan berkeinginan selalu mendapatkan kekuatan dari Allah untuk istiqomah Amiin ya Rabb…..

Ada banyak teman dan kolega bertanya kepada saya, apa gerangan yang bisa memberhentikan merokok saya? Kok bisa..? Tanya beberapa mereka kepada saya. Waktu itu, saya sendiri belum terfikirkan, Apa ya alasannya Kok saya bisa berhenti merokok..? saya jawab, “ yah……. Ingin berhenti dan….. berhenti dengan sendirinya” kata saya. Beberapa mereka tetap tidak percaya, tapi saya sendiri waktu itu sungguh saya belum tahu juga, kok bisa……?!

Setelah lebih dari setahun, dengan mencoba menjadi pembelajar dengan sering membaca beberapa buku, akhirnya saya meng ‘iya’ kan suatu metoda yang justru waktu itu saya tidak mengetahui bahwa caranya adalah yang sering dibincangkan orang dengan istilah :
‘Perintah fikiran’.
Dunia berkembang dan berubah, cara berhenti merokok pun bisa berkembang dan berubah, yang akan saya paparkan adalah cara yang saya lakukan secara tidak sadar ketika berhenti merokok.
Maka dengan Bismillah saya bermaksud untuk berbagi kepada pembaca, semoga bermanfaat cara yang saya lakukan ini.

Berhenti merokok ternyata memerlukan beberapa syarat seperti halnya kita berkeinginan untuk maju, diantaranya adalah :

1. Niat yang sungguh-sungguh, apakah benar kita berkeinginan untuk berhenti..?
2. Perlu penekanan niat dengan melakukan perintah dalam fikiran, percayakah bahwa fikiran yang kita miliki perlu untuk diperintah oleh kita sendiri dengan perasaan dan berulang.? Atau dengan kata lain, kita harus bisa mengalahkan fikiran kita sendiri/
3. Motivasi, motivasi apa yang membuat, fikiran dan niat itu bisa dipertahankan dan perlu berhasil?

Mari Kita paparkan satu persatu :

1. Niat atau keinginan untuk berhenti.
Ini Penting……!
Tanpa adanya niat atau keinginan yang sungguh-sungguh mau berhenti, niscaya usaha apapun ternyata tidak ada gunanya. Diantara cara untuk menguatk niat adalah, dengan membuat beberapa rentetan pertanyaan untuk diri sendiri dan jawablah pertanyaan itu dengan PASSIONATE dengan mengatakan bahwa “Saya TETAP INGIN berhenti merokok” selesai.

2. Perlu penekanan dari niat itu.
Apa yang saya lakukan dulu..? ternyata saya baru menyadarinya ketika merenungi beberapa pertanyaan dari rekan akan cara yan gsaya lakukan dan saya ingin sekali menjawabnya. Ternyata yang saya lakukan dulu adalah sbb:
• Setelah saya berniat untuk INGIN berhenti merokok, setiap saya membeli sebungkus rokok, refleks saya bicara sendiri kepada saya sendiri dengan memegang bungkus rokok itu kuat-kuat “ Kayaknya… ini bungkus terakhir deh…’ (bersuara lho ya….)
• Kemudian, pada saat batang rokok terakhir dari bungku tersebut, saya pegang rokok itu sebelum dinyalakan, dan bicara sendiri pada diri saya, ‘ Kayaknya ini batang rokok terkhir deh…, tapi……. Ah belum ah……’ akhirnya beli lagi sebungkus..
• Setelah beli lagi, saya lakukan hal yang sama, dan setiap batang rokok terakhir di bungkus itu, saya ucapkan hal yang sama….
• Proses itu saya lakukan berulang-ulang, mungkin sampai 4-5 bungkus rokok.
• Di bungkus terakhir, saya lakukan dengan ucapan yang lebih passionate ‘Ini Bungkus terakhir!’ dan pada saat batang rokok terakhir, saya katakan pada diri sendiri dengan bersuara lebih tekan ‘Ini batang rokok terakhir’. Dan sekalian mau memberikan kejutan kepada sang Istri tercinta, ketika selesai makan di warung SUKAHATI depok, saya katakan di depan istri saya, “surprise…. Batang rokok ini adalah batang rokok terakhir..’ sang istri kaget campur gembira katanya… ‘serius…?’ kata sang istri. ‘IYA’ kata saya…. ‘Alhamdulillah… kenapa emang ayah..?’ saya jawab ‘ saya tidak tahu, pokoknya saya ingin berhenti merokok..’

Begitulah kurang lebih apa yang terjadi beberapa waktu sebelum saya berhenti merokok. Yang selanjutnya, ternyata apa yang saya lakukan adalah salah satu rentetan dan metoda pengaturan fikiran yaitu melakukan perintah atas diri sendiri yang lebih passionate, yang dikenal dengan nama “INCANTATION” dalam NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)

Konon incantation ini lebih passionate dari ‘Afirmation’ yang lebih kepada perintah berulang-ulang. Selain itu, terdapat perbedaan kata-kata diawal proses dengan diakhir proses, yaitu dimana diawalnya terdapat kata-kata ‘…kayak… deh…’ dan di akhir, ternyata tanpa sadar kata-katanya lebih mengarah kepada perintah “ini batang rokok terakhir’ terkesan, lebih yakin dan tidak ada keraguan. Kalau masih ada ‘kayaknya deh…’ sepertinya subconscious (bawah alam sadar) kita meresponnya tidak serius.

3. Motivasi..
Waktu itu, saya memiliki motivasi yang memperkuat keinginan saya waktu itu ada 2 motivasi.
1. Sebelum berhenti merokok, saya telah coba-coba membaca buku aliran SUFI berjudul ‘mengapa harus berserah’ karya Ibn Athailah sampai tuntas (jadi waktu itu, baca buku sambil merokok juga… he…he…) setelah habis buku itu, sungguh sangat menginspirasi dan memperkuat saya akan konsep takdir yang sebelumnya konsep takdir saya pelajari dengan lengkap dalam buku ‘Dua wajah Tuhan’ yang merupakan terjemahan dari kitab (kalau ga salah sih..) Al-amru baina Al-Amrain (satu perkara diantara dua perkara), yang membawa saya memahami arti takdir yang sesungguhnya dan mudah dimengerti (Bagi yang berniat untuk mendalami takdir, sepertinya kedua buku itu saling mengisi deh….) Nah…. Dari buku yang telah berhasil menginspirasi saya itu, saya jadi berfikir, “bagaimana Allah memberikan takdir berupa kesehatan yang baik untuk tubuh kita, jika kita TIDAK memantaskan dan berperilaku diri untuk mendapatkan kesehatan yang baik, dan alasan-alasan penolakan berhenti merokok, ternyata HANYA-lah ‘pengaturan diri yang tidak berdasar’ yang seolah-oleh kita lebih tahu dari Allah…. (seperti di ajarkan di buku itu ttg PENGATURAN DIRI) Inti motivasinya adalah “ pantaskan diri kita untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan”
2. Motivasi kedua adalah Anak.Suatu saat, ketika saya merokok, saya telah melanggar komitmen saya sendiri, yaitu ‘kalau mau merokok, jangan sampai anak melihat saya merokok sekali pun’. Ternyata saya melanggarnya, sehingga dalam waktu tertentu saya pernah melihat anak saya memegang uang seribu yang digulung bak rokok, dan dia pura-pura merokok, saya Tanya ‘apa itu ka’?’ dia menjawab dengan polos sambil mengisap gulungan kertas tadi “rokok neh Yah…’… Hati dan fikiran saya langsung sontak tidak terima dan terpukul oleh ulah sendiri…., Astagfirullah…., tapi karena waktu itu saya masih merokok, mulai saat itu, saya sembunyi-sembunyi merokok dari pandangan anak-anak. Tapi ternyata sia-sia, bau rokok tidak bisa dihilangkan dengan mudah ketika kita ingin cium anak dan bercanda denga nmereka. Dengan peristiwa itu, saya jadi termotivasi untuk mewujudkan ‘BAKAL INGIN berhenti merokok’ menjadi ‘INGIN berhenti’ karena saya INGIN anak saya terhindar dari pengaruh rokok.
Pembaca yang budiman, dari pengalaman pribadi saya di atas, dan setelah beberapa buku motivasi, talk show dll saya simak, saya sempat interest untuk coba belajar NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) ini, tapi karena trainingnya masih relative mahal, jadinya saya mengandalkan beberapa buku, termasuk aplikasi dan pencerahan dari para practisionernya.
Untuk cara melakukan perintah ‘Ini batang rokok terakhir!’ yang saya lakukan untuk diri sendiri, ternyata itu merupakan aktivitas incantation yang baru mengetahui istilahnya setelah setahun berikutnya (belakangan ini)

Kalau kita pelajari lebih lengkap, ternyata ada metoda yang lebih tegas dan lebih visual dalam NLP ini terutama bagi yang telah berniat sungguh-sungguh, yaitu dengan metoda ‘Swish pattern’. Untuk jelasnya salah satu keterangannya silahkan klik disini deh…. Dan silahkan diikuti.

Untuk mudah aplikasinya, saya coba uraikan dengan cara sederhana dan simple (versi sendiri he…he…)

Pertama, setelah anda berniat dengan sungguh-sungguh, ucapkan berulang ‘SAYA INGIN BERHENTI MEROKOK’ jika perlu, tulis dalam Buku pribadi anda atau buka rencana hidup anda. Ucapkan sesering mungkin dengan perasaaan. Misal sambil mengepalkan tangan di dada dekat paru-paru.

Kedua, cari gambar atau photo yang mencerminkan orang yang tidak anda inginkan yaitu yang suka merokok, misalnya gambar, orang yang sakit-sakitan, atau orangnya lusuh, tidak punya uang, melarat dll pokoknya hal-hal yang menurut anda tidak anda inginkan kalau anda tetap merokok. Akan lebih bagus lagi jika Anda di photo berpose seperti orang yang tidak anda inginkan, misalnya Rambut lusuh, dompet kosong, jerawatan, bau, sambil pegang kertas hutang, sambil pegang surat sakit dokter, sambil pegang rokok, lalu photolah diri anda seperti itu adanya. Lalu cetak dan bawa kemana pun anda pergi (kita sebut Photo pertama) (misal photo seperti berikut:)

Ketiga, gambarkan diri anda sebagai pribadi yang kebalikannya dari photo pertama, missal gambaran orang yang sukses, kaya, baju selalu rapih, wangi, ceria banyak uang dll yang anda inginkan kalau anda berhenti merokok. Photo diri anda, dan bawa kemana pun anda pergi. (sebut photo kedua) (misal seperti photo berikut :

(Kedua photo di atas hanya contoh aja, lebih pas kalau photo anda sendiri)
Selanjutnya, jika and membaca di link ini lakukanlah sebagaima cara yang dijelaskan dengan menggunakan media kedua photo anda itu (photo pertama dan kedua). Atau dengan cara sederhana sebagai berikut,

Lakukan hal yang sama seperti yang saya lakukan ketika anda membeli rokok. Dan Ketika anda mau mengisap rokok, lihat photo pertama anda, bahwa jika anda merokok akan seperti itu keadaannya, lalu berkata ‘ INI batang rokok terakhir dan INI (photo) Bukan diri saya’ (That’s not me!) dan saya ingin tampan seperti INI” (sembari mengganti photo kedua yang seperti yang anda inginkan, dengan keras photo pertama ditutup photo kedua, “PLAK!’’) Lakukan beberapa kali.….

Teruslah coba dan yakinlah bahwa anda pasti bisa, dan jangan lupa untuk tetap berdoa.
Adapun ucapan do’a yang menurut versi saya yang cocok adalah sebagai berikut (sebelum berdoa, bayangkan wajah dan kondisi anda seperti gambaran photo kedua sedetil mungkin dalam bayangan anda)

“Ya Allah, Ya Rabb…. Hamba ingiiin sekali untuk berhenti merokok Ya Rabb…. Hamba merasa senang dan Bahagia Karena saya sudah berhenti merokok ya Rabb, Rasanya lega dan Sehat tubuh titipan-Mu ini ya Rabb dengan tanpa asap Rokok, sehingga Hamba Bahagia bisa beribadah kepada-Mu dengan khusuk”

Akan lebih baik, selain setiap waktu berdoa seperti itu, waktu yang paling bagus yang lain adalah, pas beberpa menit atau detik ketika anda akan terpejam tidur, dan rasakan bahwa anda telah berhenti merokok.
Dan ketika anda bangun dari tidur, lakukan hal berikut :

“Alhamdulillah ya Allah, Hamba sehat dan bugar, segala puji bagi-Mu ya Allah, saya sehat dan telah berhenti merokok, terima kasih atas kesehatan dan panjang umur yang Engkau berikan kepadaku”

Lalu, injakkan kaki ke lantai dengan semangat 3 kali, dan ucapkan lagi Alhamdulillah…..

Saya yakin, dengan niat yang kuat, dengan incantation diucapkan berulang-ulang penuh perasaan, serta kekuatan doa seperti yang anda inginkan, keinginan untuk berhenti merokok akan dikabulkan….. Silahkan mencoba… semoga Allah membukakan jalan pencapaian keinginan anda itu… Amiin Ya Rabb..

Terima kasih dan semoga bermanfaat.
Wassalam
Dede
Bagi yang berminat artikel ini, hubungi dede di dedemeki@centrin.net.id atau 081385317086

MIE ayam Paling Enak SE DUNIA....!

2009-05-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

oleh Dede meki

Kaget dengan ungkapan di atas..? ungkapan di atas adalah rasa syukur kepada Allah SWT, dan bukan ungkapan bohong, tapi ini adalah ungkapan dari rasa KENYATAAN

Bagaimana tidak, salah satu favourite makananku adalah mie ayam baso Kampung sendiri. Dan setelah sekian banyak tempat mangkal mie ayam saya 'jajal', ternyata tidak ada yang mampu mengalahkan nikmatnya mie ayam baso Azzami di Kuningan Jawa Barat.

Mau tahu alamatnya..? Tepatnya jalan Syeh Maulana akbar, tempat mangkal kuda-delman Kuningan. Kalau pembaca dari arah Cirebon, lanjutkan perjalanan ke arah kuningan kota, setelah melewati kantor bupati masih terus, setelah melewati supermarket SURYA, sedikit lagi, nanti ketemu jalan-jembatan sungai CITAMBA, nah.... ambil belok kanan nah... disitulah sebelah kanan tempatnya.

Tapi eiit... tunggu dulu, dia hanya buka dari jam 17.30 sampai dengan malam, karena kalau siang di sana adalah pertokoan, ada toko star, bank lippo dll.

Apa benar paling enak sedunia..? kalau kata saya, IYA....... pokoknya very very mak nyussssssss, Malah saya berharap Team Kuliner, pak Bondan atau lainnya dari televisi kudu mendatanginya... asli....

Aku yakin, bagi pembaca yang 'maniak' mie ayam, pasti mau men-jajal-nya......

Kalau makan, saya sudah dipastikan 'mindo' (dalam bahasa sunda yang berarti makan nambah 1 porsi). Jangankan saya sendiri, bocah saya saja, kalau lagi di jakarta sering ngomong..'Yah.... kakak mau mie ayam di kampung donk.... enak banget soalnya' . Malah pernah pengalaman, karena pulang dari Kuningan ke Jakarta lagi malam hari, maka mampir dulu makan mie ayam, belum puas sang bocah minta dibawain. Ah.. saya fikir biar lebih mak nyuss, saya beli dengan mangkoknya saja, dan ternyata di mobil dalam perjalanan, ludes habis ama bocah, ampe merem melek... Dan mangkoknya masih ada di rumah jadi kenang kenangan.

Photo berikut adalah photo-photo yang di capture saat saya dan keluarga makan makanan wajib kalau pulang ke kampung.... Kalau pulang kampung tidak makan mie ayam ini.... wah.. pokoknya mesti lah

SELAMAT MENCOBA, DIJAMIN TIDAK MENYESAL......

Jika menyesal, berarti harap periksa lidah anda he... he.... he....

Note:

- saya bukan penjual atau pemilik mie ayam ini

- saya hanya penggemar mie ayam ini, sejak saya sma, dan sampai sekarang rasanya tetap eksis... hebat euy.... tuh yang punya.. (orang cirebon katanya....)

Jaja Suteja: Say Hello

2009-04-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

i am glad to inform u that now i am one of the member of this group. i hope we have same visson and mission 2 improve the glory of SMANDAKNG.

Thanks 4 the inisiator of this group and may God Bless u forever, and send best Regard 4 the honour teachers of SMANDAKNG.

Sincerely Yours

Jaja Suteja
HP: 08122454677
Kompleks Bougenvile H-2 Antapani
Bandung 40291 (022) 7204618
Office:
management Study Program Pasundan University Bandung
Jl Tamansari 8 Bandung (022) 4233646

Rakhmat Hidayat: Silaturahmi Ikasmanda di Kick Andy

2009-04-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Silaturahmi bisa dilakukan dimana saja baik melalui tatap muka maupun secara on line.Alhamdulillah, ditengah berbagai kesibukan alumni-alumni Smanda, pada Rabu sore (22 April 2009) berkumpul 20 orang alumni Smanda dari berbagai angkatan untuk mengikuti shooting Kick Andy di metro TV dgn episode Hobi Jadi Profesi.Acaranya sgt menarik, penuh inspiratif, edukatif tp dikemas dgn penuh santai, rileks.Sama sekali tdk ada kesan menggurui, tegang apalagi serius. Tidak heran jika Kick Andy mjd salah satu acara yg paling banyak diminati oleh semua masyarakat.

Alumni Smanda yg datang mulai dari angkatan 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, dan 2005.Ada juga alumni Smanda yg membawa suami tercinta sbg 'bodyguard'nya.Krn sdh lama gak ketemu, kami saling melepas kangen.Ada yg satu angkatan tp sdh lama gak ketemu, ketika ketemu benar-benar melepas kangen.Teman satu angkatan sy adalah tetangga satu RT di Pasapen-Kuningan (Kang Nana Supriyatna'98).Sdh berapa tahun kami tdk pernah ketemu meski sama-sama 1 RT di Kuningan.Allah maha tahu, akhirnya kami dipertemukan di Kick Andy.Luar biasa.

Alumni banyak yang datang dari Bandung, Bogor, Serpong, Ciputat.Ada juga alumni yg rela meninggalkan jam kantornya hanya untuk bersilaturahmi dan menghadiri Kick Andy.Menurutnya,kesempatan tidak datang ke dua kalinya.

Banyak hal yang bs didapatkan dari Kick Andy. Pesan moral yg disampaikan sangat kuat bg siapapun yg menontonnya.Kerja keras, kesungguhan dan optimisme menjalani hidup.Selalu ada kesempatan yg dapat diraih jika kita sungguh-sungguh.Menurut pepatah, barangsiapa yang sungguh-sungguh pasti berhasil.

Episode kali ini mengisahkan beberapa hobi yg dianggap sebelah mata tetapi mampu menjadi penghasilan yang luar biasa. Mulai dari DJ, visual art, skateboardist, tatto artist, pemain yoyo, bartender, barista. Pokoknya seru dan sungguh sangat inspiratif.

Karena sdh lama gak ketemu, spt biasa 'wajah-wajah kampung' (tp rizki metropolitan) selalu mencari kesempatan untuk berfoto ria. Cari angle yg pas. Pada saat di foto, kelihatan hebohnya anak-anak Arkart 16 tersebut. Dari mulai di luar ruang shooting, menunggu masuk ruangan, menunggu shooting dimulai hingga shooting selesai.Semuanya heboh dan kelihatan photogenic.Berbagai komentar muncul, "cepetan diupload ya di pesbuk," Ada alumni yg lain bilang, "jgn sampe salah ngeteg nya ya, krn gak apal nama-namanya,". Sy sendiri bilang, "awas hati-hati, banyak 'jupe' alias 'jurig pesbuk'".

Jam 10 malam shooting selesai. Kami langsung meluncur ke tempat kami masing-masing. teh Lala bersama rombongan meluncur ke daerah Cawang untuk mendrop beberapa alumni lain yg melanjutkan ke alamat masing-masing. Diiringi closing statement & perkenalan masing-masing, ucapan terima kasih disampaikan kepada seluruh alumni yg meluangkan waktunya ke Kick Andy.

Ditunggu tayangan saja, agar lebih seru dan pasti wajah-wajah ala Smanda 'bergentayangan' di Kick Andy dua minggu mendatang.

Salam Smanda

Rakhmat H

Smanda'98

10 Tips for Telephone Success

2009-04-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

by Jo Ann Kirby

The telephone is an often under-appreciated and much maligned piece of office equipment. Have you stopped to consider how much business you conduct over the telephone? These 10 tips will help you improve your telephone presence and presentations.

1. You are the “Manager of First Impressions” for your business. Whenever you pick up the telephone, put a smile on your face first. It will enhance your vocal quality and you will sound pleasant and relaxed.

2. Listen attentively to the person you are speaking with. Recall why your dog is such a good listener: listen actively and in the moment. Multi-tasking is the enemy of effective listening.

3. Let other people talk! Make sure your caller has completely finished speaking before responding. Remember: sometimes they aren’t done talking; they are just coming up for air.

4. Use open-ended questions to get people to speak more freely. You should always talk less than the person you have called. It makes others feel more comfortable, particularly if you are asking them to make a decision. The more they talk, the easier it is for them to “buy into” what you are proposing.

5. To create affinity with your callers, speed up or slow down your speaking voice to better match theirs. They won’t realize why they feel comfortable, they just will.

6. Use your words for best results. Keep in mind you can phrase anything positively, negatively or neutrally. Phrasing your words positively will help you get better results more easily.

7. Voice mail can be your friend. Avoid leaving voice mail messages but if you must, think of it as a 30 second commercial on a highly rated radio program. You have the opportunity to get your message into the “ears” of your most desired audience. Your message should reflect this.

8. Plan your telephone presentations in advance. Think out all the various scenarios you might be faced with and write it out. This is called pre-call planning.

9. Tape yourself for self-improvement. Listen to yourself carefully and decide what areas you want to improve.

10. Make an action plan. Focus on only one area at a time. When you feel comfortable, move to your next area and repeat.

We use the telephone as our primary form of personal communication. People who are good with this medium increase their opportunities for success.

About Author
Jo Ann Kirby is president of KRG Communications Group. She has 20 years experience in sales, telephone sales and sales management and an extensive background in training and development. Her background also includes extensive b2b telesales management experience. Jo Ann has been published in The Toastmaster, NAPPS Network and Commerce magazines.

Real Estate Photography Tips

2009-04-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Its long been known that some people react better or differently to auditory signals while others react more favouarbly to visual cues. That's why there are plenty of discussions about Learning Styles - Visual vs. Auditory Learners, or the difference between Visual vs. Verbal Ways of Thinking, and the old favourite Written Communication vs. Visual Communication.

Nothing cuts to the core though more than photos in Real Estate adverts. Advertisements without photos just don't do it, with a few exceptions that almost can paint a picture for you. However given the wide spread use of the internet its a no no to advertise on the internet with out photos, but more importantly without GOOD photos.

I always advise anyone considering moving in the future that when it comes to buying a home, to cast their mind back to when they brought. Were they somewhat taken with some photos of the property, something like its street/curb appeal, backyard photo, well lit kitchen or lounge photo, aerial or elevated shot, etc. Most were put into action mode by a combination of advert heading, copy text and photos. Although some credit must be given to the copy, overall without good photography its debatable whether it would have gone any further.

If they are considering an agent to market their home, anywhere in NZ or anywhere else for that matter, then before selecting that agent, go to the net or the last property weekly and check out what photos that agent either took, had taken or justified as worthy enough to display to the world what is usually a persons most valuable financial asset. After all if you look at many agents business cards it will say Marketing Specialist or similar, so look for proof.

Ask yourself "do the photos selected to showcase that property really show it in its best gear?"

The most advantageous marketing campaign can be assisted if you consider the following tips;

Real Estate photography tips;

1]
get photos of your property on the longest day and the shortest day, shortest days being winter its important to illustrate that the winter sun (which is more important than summer sun to most folk) does indeed enter the open plan lounge and "as you can see in the photo almost reaches the dining room table".

2]
with winter sun being lower in the sky you can take some more flattering photos that won't highlight those dark shadow's under the eves, or better light up a shady yard.

3]
as that winter sun is lower it also makes for much better bedroom photos where you can see the sunshine entering over the bed or hitting the wardrobe.

4]
considering the different buyers for your property? Some may want privacy, so therefore you need to have some photos of your home in summer with all the greenery and foliage out. Some may like views, better to take the shots in winter with less distractions from greenery / foliage, etc. Some may like the larger gardens, get photos of the roses out in spring, or if you have a vege garden, get photos with the corn cobs there, or the tomatoes in full crop, or the orange pumpkins there, you get the picture I'm sure.....

5]
high tide or low tide, important in coastal areas as high tides obviously contribute to a sea view much more attractively than low tides, but perhaps you need to check out future tide tables to see when there is going to be a high or king tide coinciding with the right time of day to show the view from your place the best. A low tide may appeal to somewhere looking for access to launch a dingy, swim across to that island or confirm what a gentle sloping safe beach / swimming area the locality provides.

6]
instead of showing what a kitchen looks like, show the outlook from the kitchen, that puts a potential owner more in the drivers seat so to speak.

7]
check out images on the web for ideas.

by David Leggott

Blog Setup - How to Setup Your Blog in Less Than 17 Minutes?

2009-04-20T06:22:00.000-07:00

It Doesn't Take A Techie To Setup A Blog...

Now, I'm going to clarify this point in the beginning because I know you will probably have so much questions in your mind. For those stunning graphics and super complex HTML codes and widgets on your blog, yes you will need help.

But if all you need is a handsome looking blog with some nice template and ways to communicate effectively to your audience, then you're going to love this write up. Let's start immediately.

1) The First 5 Minutes

Sure, you look around and there's lots of blog types to choose from, right? But I'd recommend you go to Blogger dot com and set up a blog there. You got Gmail then its even easier. Basically, choose your template and make sure you like the main colors.

It's real easy to navigate. Just make sure you get an idea about what you are writing and how you want to your basic blog post, pictures and special gadgets to appear on your blog site.

2) The Next 5 Minutes (We're At The 10 Minutes Mark)

Here is where you need to put some details into what you want in your blog especially your blog content and your widgets. It can be anything from extra HTML codes or just an image that you want to add in to be consistently appearing on your site.

With Blogger nothing is impossible. So, basically by now you will know your template consists of posts, gadgets and even a header or footer. I don't bother with the footer or header really unless you want to put a banner there. Just make sure you want to archive your posts properly for readers.

3) Your Last 5 Minutes (15 Minutes Mark)

Gadgets or some HTML based widgets can be added easily using your Blogger interface but most blog tricks might not tell you this. You need to be able to know your target audience. Such as if you are writing for dog lovers, think about dog keyword terms.

Place them into your tags, header, title and also the name of your blog. I should have mentioned that earlier before you start setting up your blog but well what matter is your content. Write your posts related to the keywords you want in your niche and you will get targeted visitors.

What Next?

Without appearing too generic, I'd say we accomplished all your blog setup procedures or steps in less than 17 minutes as I promised you earlier. However, it doesn't stop there is you want to truly boost your profits. Getting detailed tips about gaining valuable traffic will help.

by Vern How Chan

Stress Management - 7 Tips to Manage Your Stress Before Giving a Presentation

2009-04-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Does the very thought of giving a speech cause you stress and sends shivers down your spine. Have you ever wondered why when you give a speech your words come out fast and furious. Or when you're describing an accident your words come quickly. So quick in fact that you have to repeat yourself because you've left words out and sometimes you left out entire sentences. Stress causes the rhythm of your speech to speed up and the space between your words to shorten.

This is a sure sign of being anxious. If you're experiencing anxiety, it's likely to have a negative impact on your presentation. While you may realize that this negative effect will only make matters worse, you're usually not in a position to alter your state of mind. The negative effect then becomes even stronger. It's not until you find a way to break the effect of this negative cycle that you can gain control of your speech.

The results of this quick anxious speech pattern will find you making the very mistakes that you're desperately trying to avoid. This anxiety is unnecessary but can't be avoided when you obsess about looking and being perfect. The harder you try the more unnatural and strained the presentation, and more mistakes you'll make.

Seven Signs of stress before and during a speech

1. Becoming confused and jumbled when giving a speech
2. Feel constant fear of forgetting what you prepared to say
3. Breathing faster just before starting your speech
4. When you make a mistake finding it hard to concentrate
5. Feel your heart beat faster when presenting
6. Feeling so nervous while giving a speech you forget what you know

So how do you remain calm? It may not be easy but it's doable. Here are 7 calming tips.

1.
Prepare thoroughly for your presentation and speech by knowing your material well

2.
Eat properly don't be excessively hungry or full

3.
Short personal routine just before the speech, such as a short prayer, 1 minute of meditation and set your intention to be a conduit of information

4.
Take a deep breaths and smile just before you begin to speak.

5.
If you get confused catch up you thoughts by taking a sip of water and smiling and saying something simple like "lets go on" this is an easy way to relax and catch up with your thinking.

6.
Focus for a moment on a friendly face

7.
Let yourself off the hook. Remember people are rooting for you and know that we are all human. So don't beat yourself up for any mistakes. There are no mistakes only learning experiences.

And I'd like you to invite you to learn even more about how you can easily eliminate stress.

by Linda Hampton

Trick Kids Into Healthy Eating

2009-04-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Getting your children involved in all of the stages of food and healthy eating is a must. When people get actively involved with something, they more often than not come to appreciate it more and are more receptive to it. The same can be said for our children. So the more you get them involved with all aspects of food the better. They can help with things like growing, preparation and cooking.

If you have an allotment great or if you have an area set aside in your garden for planting then you will have a good place to start. Just getting them involved in planting, nurturing or picking will hopefully increase their interest and that is all that is needed for healthy eating. Even if they do the minimum like watering a part of your produce it is worth it. To see them realise the crop growing from a seed to food for the table will be priceless.

Once the crop is ready to be picked then helping with this process should again keep their interest in the process. I must state that you should try and give them something they can see as quickly as possible. And then try and make sure that they have something to pick on a regular basis so use as many different crops as possible.

After the crops are picked and you begin to prepare them for use in your kitchen you should get your kids involved in preparing a meal and eating it once it has been complete, I will give you some ideas on this later. It will definitely taste a lot better than any processed food.

It will not take much to do a small area for your personal crops and it will save you money. If you go a step further and decide to video the process it will be something you can show family and friends to give the kids added satisfaction and recognition of their achievement.

Why not hide the food you want your children to eat with in their normal food. Here is an example you can add half a shredded onion to a coleslaw whether you buy it or make it yourself. Another example is shedding carrots to add to mashed potatoes. Why not try a soup and packing it with lots of other goodies. You can do this kind of thing for all sorts of food and the kids will not realise and just ask for more.

The younger you do this idea of getting them involved with all the stages of food and using some of the ways to hide foods they think they do not like then you are well on your way to healthy eating practices.

They will be further ideas available soon.

by Noel Hines

The Best Way to Grow Taller - Age Doesn't Matter!

2009-04-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Most people think they are done growing when they reach about 16-19 years of age. This is not true. In fact, if you do the proper workouts, you can increase your height as much as 4 inches, even at age 25, or even age 40! Here is one thing that doesn't work, as well as the one thing that can increase your height drastically!

Do Not Take Pills!

I see advertisements almost every day that promise to make you taller if you take their pills. These pills are just useless herbs and NONE of them are FDA Approved. If the Food and Drug Administration wont support the companies making these pills, then it's obvious that they have no benefits.

These pills are very effective in 1 aspect though; They are great at stealing your money! Don't fall for these scams.

Spine Lengthening!

This sounds drastic and impossible, but it's not. As a matter of fact this is the only way that you can grow taller. As you stand, your spine and hips naturally settle down as much as 2 inches. You need to focus on getting those inches back in order to be the height that you should be. As you get older, your back sags more and more. This only means that the older you are, the taller you can potentially be! Posture is everything in growing taller.

Work on standing tall and straightening your spine whenever you are sitting or standing. It is important to stretch every day to help loosen your spine and get full height.

by Ira Glasser

Would You Like to Get a New LCD TV For Free?

2009-04-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Because of the growing demand for higher and more advanced technological devices, mobile manufacturers and sellers offered free gifts to their customers for every purchase they made. This concept of giving out freebies is advantageous for both the buyer and the seller because they both get to enjoy what the business and pleasure offer. Imagine getting two devices in one purchase. That's definitely a good deal nobody should miss.

We are all aware that the present market has heavy technological competition. One of the competitors that struggles to climb up the market is the mobile phone industry. Thus, mobile manufacturers and companies provide other marketing pans to maintain survival or win the competition. Because of this fact, retailers of mobile phones offer additional perks to attract more buyers. They offer freebies such as DVD players, mp3 gadgets such as iPods, laptops, and Bluetooth devices as freebies for every mobile phone purchase. A buyer needs to pay only for the mobile phone but can enjoy a free gift without additional fees.

Generally, these free gifts come with contract deals. It has been gaining popularity among mobile phone dealers and manufacturers around the globe. The wonderful benefit of enjoying two gadgets for the price of one persuades consumers to support this strategy. And of course, one just cannot resist making a single payment for two products.

But before going for the freebie, buyers should be aware of several issues attached to this marketing concept. It is still important not to be easily persuaded by such marketing strategies especially if the free product will be of no use to the buyer. It is also necessary that consumers should have a clear idea about the seller and the manufacturer where the free gifts are coming from. Note also that customers should be wary that the freebies they are getting are legal, useful, functioning, and genuine.

Some mobile phone retailers offer free LCD TVs for every purchase. It may seem unbelievable, but it is true. And not only cheap and generic LCD TVs they do offer. They even have high end, branded, and modern LCD TVs to be given absolutely for free. Some consumers believe that the freebie offerings are outdated, poorly made, and defective LCDs but that is not true at this present time. Definitely, it is an amazing offer that these mobile phone manufacturers have developed for their customers.

Now if you want to experience this unbelievable offer yourself, here are a few steps that you should take. First, visit reliable websites on the Net that offers this kind of promo. The internet is probably the best source for such offers. You will find several popular mobile phone companies that have this kind of promo. Select one according to your knowledge of the company's reliability and product efficiency. Most mobile phone retailers that offer free LCD gifts sell the latest mobile phone model with the highest and most sophisticated features. Such mobile phones have a high resolution camera, video and music player, FM radio, games, and picture-editing functions.

Thank goodness for this wonderful offer that customers get to enjoy two things at one value. This clearly shows that it is possible to enjoy the amazing experience of LCD TV and high end mobile phone at the price of one. This free gift offer may be your chance to score that perfect Samsung LCD TV for your home. So go now and think about that mobile phone purchase and you may be just in time for a freebie you cannot resist.

Check out the largest collection of LCD TV Wholesale and get Free Shipping!
Discounts from 45% - 75% : Samsung LCD TV

by Frank C. Jameson

Rahmat Hidayat: fwd: 50 Fakta Tentang Pemilu 2009

2009-04-20T05:36:00.000-07:00

50 Fakta Tentang Pemilu 2009
Oleh Arif Hidayat Minggu, 19 April 2009 14:26

1. Pemilu 2009 adalah pemilu yang kesepuluh kalinya dengan urutan tahun 1955, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 1999, dan 2004.

2. Pemilu 2009 adalah pemilu dengan jumlah peserta terbanyak yakni 44 partai.

3. Pemilu 2009 adalah pemilu pertama yang menyertakan enam partai lokal Aceh. Kecuali di Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam, nomor urut partai peserta pemilu 2009 yang tertera di kertas suara akan 'lompat' dari partai bernomor 34 ke partai bernomor 41 di seluruh daerah pemilihan. Karena partai nomor urut 35 sampai 40 adalah partai lokal Aceh.

4. Pemilu 2009 menjadi pemilu pertama yang menggunakan metode centang/contreng bukan mencoblos saat memberikan suara di kertas suara.

5. Pemilu presiden berlangsung dua kali putaran setelah pemilu legislatif.

6. Pemilih luar negeri hanya akan memilih calon anggota DPR dan presiden/wapres.

7. Syarat pencalonan presiden dan wakil presiden pada pemilu 2009 adalah dicalonkan oleh partai politik yang memperoleh 20% kursi di DPR dan mendapat 25% suara sah nasional.

8. Komisi Pemilihan Umum menetapkan jumlah pemilih untuk Pemilu 2009 sebesar 171.068.667 orang. Jumlah itu berasal dari pemilih dalam negeri dari 33 provinsi sebesar 169.558.775 orang dan pemilih luar negeri dari 117 perwakilan Indonesia di luar negeri sebanyak 1.509.892.

9. Pemilih pemula yang jumlahnya mencapai 30-40 persen total jumlah pemilih, terutama kalangan pelajar dan remaja

10. Agenda Pemilu Legislatif 1. Sosialisasi tahapan dan informasi Pemilu 1-5 April 2009, 2. Operasional PPK,PPS dan PPLN 1 Januari - April 2009, 3. Distribusi perlengkapan Pemilu DPR,DPD, 1 Januari - 20 Nop 2009, 4. Kampanye terbatas 1 Januari - 5 April 2009, 5. Rapat Umum, 17 Maret - 5 April 2009, 6. Pembentukan dan operasional KPPS 9 Maret 2009, 7. Persiapan jelang pemungutan suara 15 Januari-8 April 2009, 8. Pemungutan dan perhitungan suara 9 April 2009, 9. Penetapan hasil Pemilu, PR,DPD,DPRD 19 April-12 Mei 2009, 10. Penetapan anggota DPRD Juli- 1 Oktober 2009.

11. Formulir pemilu terdiri dari 9 model yakni Formulir Model A: Digunakan untuk data pemilih, Formulir Model A1 : Digunakan Pemilihan Sementara, Formulir Model A1: Daftar Pemilih Sementara Hasil Perbaikan Awal, Formulir Model A2.2: Daftar Pemilih Sementara Hasil Perbaikan Akhir, Formulir Model A3: Daftar Pemilih Tetap, Formulir Model A4: Daftar Pemilih Tambahan, Formulir Model A5: Surat Pemberitahuan Daftar Pemilih Tambahan, Formulir Model A6: Rekap DPT Kabupaten/Kota, Formulir Model A7: Rekap Daftar Pemilih Tetap Provinsi.

12. Anggaran pemilu tahun 2009 diajukan sekitar Rp Rp 47,9 triliun. Sementara itu, anggaran untuk 34,96 juta jiwa penduduk miskin (15.42 persen dari total penduduk) anggarannya hanya Rp 5,1 triliun

13. Kertas suara berukuran 84 cm x 54 cm merupakan kertas suara terbesar sepanjang pemilu digelar di Indonesia

14. Jumlah Dapil (Daerah Pemilihan) DPR terbanyak : Jawa Barat dan Jawa Timur dengan jumlah dapil sebanyak 11

15. Jumlah Dapil (Daerah Pemilihan) DPRD Provinsi terbanyak : Sumatera Utara, Jawa Barat dan Jawa Timur dengan jumlah dapil sebanyak 11

16. Jumlah Dapil (Daerah Pemilihan) DPRD Kota/Kabupaten terbanyak : Provins Jawa Timur dengan jumlah dapil sebanyak 191

17. Jumlah PPK (Panitia Pemilihan Kecamatan) terbanyak : Provinsi Jawa Timur dengan jumlah PPK sebanyak 659

18. Jumlah PPS (Penyelenggara Pemungutan Suara (untuk Kelurahan)) terbanyak : Provinsi Jawa Tengah dengan jumlah PPS sebanyak 8,574

19. Jumlah TPS (Tempat Pemungutan Suara) terbanyak : Provinsi Jawa Tengah dengan jumlah TPS sebanyak 88,960

20. Jumlah Peserta Pemilih terbanyak : Provinsi Jawa Timur dengan jumlah pemilih sebanyak 29,514,290

21. Jumlah Caleg DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) terbanyak : Provinsi Jawa Barat dengan jumlah caleg DPR sebanyak 1806

22. Jumlah Caleg DPD (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah) terbanyak : Provinsi Banten dengan jumlah caleg DPD sebanyak 69

23. Jumlah Caleg DPRD (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah) Provinsi terbanyak : Provinsi DKI Jakarta dengan jumlah caleg DPRD sebanyak 2268

24. Lima kertas Surat Suara bergambar palu arit ditemukan di salah satu tempat pemungutan suara di Kendal, Jawa Tengah, Kamis (9/4). Simbol Partai Komunis Indonesia tersebut berada di bagian depan kertas suara. Tak hanya itu, pelaku juga mencantumkan tulisan PKI Jaya dan PKI Yes.

25. Amrozi dan Ali Imran Terpidana Mati Bom Bali yang telah di eksekusi di nusakambangan masuk dalam daftar pemilih tetap (DPT) Lamongan Jatim

26. Pertama kalinya dalam sejarah demokrasi Indonesia, warga Baduy yang bermukim di Desa Kanekes, Kecamatan Leuwidamar, Kabupaten Lebak, Banten, bersedia mengikuti Pemilu 2009

27. Politik uang atau money politics menduduki peringkat pertama kasus pelanggaran pemilu yang dilaporkan Panwaslu kepada aparat kepolisian selaku penyidik dengan 105 kasus. Urutan pelanggaran terbanyak selanjutnya dalam periode yang sama adalah kampanye di tempat pendidikan, ibadah, maupun fasilitas negara 80 kasus perusakan alat kampanye baliho ataupun gambar (77), kampanye di luar jadwal (46), mengaku dirinya sebagai orang lain atau joki (10), memberikan uang pada saat pemungutan suara (2).Menyusul kemudian melakukan pemungutan dua kali empat kasus, menyebabkan orang lain kehilangan haknya satu kasus dan menghalang-halangi orang lain menyampaikan hak lainnya masing-masing satu kasus.

28. Penghitungan Suara Paling Lelet, Hingga hari keenam setelah pemilu legislatif dilaksanakan, KPU baru mampu menyajikan kurang dari 5 persen suara dari jumlah pemilih terdaftar. Jauh lebih lelet dari pemilu sebelumnya. Pada Pemilu 2004 sudah terkumpul 51,72 persen suara. Bahkan Pemilu 1999 yang secara khusus belum menggunakan sistem teknologi informasi sudah mampu mengumpulkan 30,15 persen suara.

29. Persidangan perdata citizen lawsuit yang mendudukkan KPU dan Presiden RI dalam hal ini Menteri Dalam Negeri sebagai tergugat, hanya berlangsung tujuh menit. Mereka yang digugat terkait kekisruhan daftar pemilih tetap (DPT) tidak hadir di persidangan PN Jakarta Pusat, Kamis (16/4).

30. Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya (Gerindra merupakan partai terkaya di pemilu 2009 dengan saldo awal kampanye sebanyak Rp15 miliar, Sedangkan PNI Marhaenisme merupakan partai termiskin dengan saldo hanya Rp650 ribu.

31. Kepala Daeah yang Ajukan Cuti Kampanye Pemilu 2009 yakni Gubernur Sumatera Selatan, Gubernur Kalimantan Tengah, Gubernur Kalimantan Barat, Gubernur Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, Wakil Gubernur Nangroe Aceh Darusalam, Wakil Gubernur Kalimantan Tengah, Wakil Gubernur Sulawesi Utara, Wakil Gubernur Sulawesi Tengah. Bupati Subang, Bupati Poso, Bupati Tolitoli, Bupati Bualemo, Bupati Bonebolemo, Bupati Gorontalo, Wakil Bupati Bonebolamo, Wakil Bupati Bualemo, Wakil Bupati Gorontalo, Wali Kota Banjarmasin, Wali Kota Gorontalo, Wakil Wali Kota Banjarmasin, Wakil Walikota Gorontalo.

32. Kejaksaan Agung mengeluarkan surat larangan agar kejaksaan negeri dan kejaksaan tinggi di Indonesia dilarang menindaklanjuti laporan tentang calon legislator bermasalah selama masa pemilihan legislatif dan pemilihan presiden selesai.

33. Kepolisian Daerah Jawa Barat melarang semua kegiatan yang melibatkan masa banyak selama kegiatan kampanye pemilu. kegiatan tersebut diantaranya pertandingan sepak bola dan pertunjukan seni musik.

34. Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) dan Pusat Pemilu Akses Penyandang Cacat akan menyediakan alat bantu kepada pemilih tuna netra berupa template braille. Alat bantu ini akan disediakan di seluruh TPS yang ada di Indonesia (519.920 TPS).

35. Para pimpinan partai politik, dipimpin oleh Ketua KPU Abdul Hafiz Anshary, mengucapkan ikrar kampanye damai di Hall D PRJ Kemayoran, Jakarta Pusat. "Kami seluruh pimpinan partai politik peserta Pemilu 2009, dengan ini menyatakan kebulatan tekad untuk mewujudkan kampanye rapat umum yang tertib, damai, cerdas, dan berkualitas, demi suksesnya pemilu sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan" .

36. Sebanyak 26 Organisasi Masyarakat Sipil/Civil Society Organizations (CSO's) akan menjadi agen sosialisasi KPU dalam mensosialisasikan Pemilu kepada masyarakat di seluruh Indonesia.

37. Komisi Pemilihan Umum menggandeng sepuluh provider seluler membantu sosialisasi pemilu. Mereka membantu dengan mengirim pesan pendek ke calon pemilih. Kesepuluh provider seluler, yakni PT Telkom, PT Indosat, PT Telkomsel, PT Excelcomindo Pratama, PT Bakrie Telecom, PT Mobil-8, PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia, PT Hutchison CP Telecommunication, PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler dan PT Smart Telcom.

38. Warga yang tidak menggunakan hak pilihnya dalam Pemilu Legislatif 2009 kali ini cukup banyak atau sekitar 40 persen.

39. KPU mencoret nama-nama calon anggota Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) diataranya dari -Bali: Agus Sumantri, karena mengundurkan diri. -Sulawesi Tenggara; Didik Yudiarto, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. -NTB: Busrah Hasan, karena mengundurkan diri. -Maluku : Faisal Assegaf, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. -Maluku Utara : Khairul Saleh Arif, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. Syamsudin Manaf, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. Yamin Achmad, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. -Sumatera Selatan : Firdaus Najuri, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. -Jambi: M Thoha, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye. -Banten: Feri Ferdiansyah, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye, Imam Darmadi, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye, Muhamad Ilyas, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye, Sanudi, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye, Sudrajad Ardani, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye, Sudrajad Syahrudin, karena tidak serahkan laporan awal dana kampanye.

40. Mahkamah Konstitusi tidak bisa menerima gugatan dari calon anggota legislatif terkait hasil pemilu. Gugatan hasil pemilu hanya boleh diajukan oleh DPP partai politik.

41. Calon legislator Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, Rieke Diah Pitaloka, unggul atas Taufik Kiemas dalam perolehan suara Daerah Pemilihan Jawa Barat 2 yakni Bandung dan Bandung Barat.

42. Tersangka korupsi Abdul Hadi Djamal Raih Suara Terbesar untuk daerah pemilihan Sulawesi Selatan

43. Caleg DPD Samuel Parningotan Samosir Mendulang Suara Besar Karena Bernomor 31, tingginya perolehan suara karena ia diuntungkan oleh angka 31 milik Partai Demokrat yang menjadi nomor urut dirinya.

44. Meninggal Tiga Bulan Sebelum Pemilu,Caleg Demokrat Tetap Kalahkan Caleg Parpol Lain. Perolehan suara Partai Demokrat memang fenomenal. Buktinya, seorang caleg Demokrat bernama Oni Husain yang telah meninggal dunia tiga bulan sebelum pemungutan suara Pemilu 2009 digelar, berhasil memperoleh suara signifikan. Hebatnya lagi, di sejumlah TPS, perolehan suara caleg yang tinggal nama tersebut berhasil mengungguli caleg incumbent DPRD NTB.

45. Partai Demokrat (PD) meraih suara terbanyak berkisar 20%, dengan mengalami kenaikan hampir 3 kali lipat dari pemilu tahun 2004. Kemenangan PD seiring dengan hasil survey sebelum pemilu yang menempatkan PD akan meraih suara terbanyak.

46. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) dan Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN) perolehan suaranya stabil seperti hasil yang dicapai pada pemilu tahun 2004.

47. Sebelum pemilu berlangsung, beberapa daerah berlomba menyiapkan Rumah sakit Jiwa berfasilitas khusus untuk menampung caleg yang stress.

48. Sebanyak 182.843 mantan caleg diperkirakan akan stress, angka ini didasarkan dari hasil riset bahwa 11.4% dari total caleg berpotensi Stress. Hitungannya caleg DPR-RI ; 11.215 - 560 = 10.655 tidak terpilih, caleg DPD 1.109 - 132 = 977 tidak terpilih, caleg DPR-D ; 112.000 - 1.998 = 110.002 orang stress, caleg DPR kabupaten/kota; 1.500.000 - 15.750 = 1.484.250 tidak terpilih, dengan total mantan caleg yang tidak terpilih 1.603.886 orang. Jumlah 1.605.884 ini kemudian dikalikan 11,4% maka ditemukan angka 182.843.

49. Beberapa Calon Presiden yang mendeklarasikan diri sebagai Capres sebelum pemilu akhirnya memilih berkoalisasi dengan mengincar posisi wakil Presiden.

50. Pemilu tahun 2009 dinilai berbagai kalangan sebagai pemilu terburuk setelah reformasi, dengan berbagai fakta seperti daftar pemilih tetap (DPT) yang amburadul.

Arif Hidayat
Diolah dari berbagai sumber

Artikel bisa lihat di http://www.maubaca. com/serba- serbi/133- 50-fakta- tentang-pemilu- 2009.html

Car Repair - Tips to Find a Trustworthy Mechanic

2009-04-18T01:32:00.000-07:00

Having a car is just not enough; repairing and maintaining it on a regular basis is equally important. Your vehicle is a kind of an investment that you have made towards a better lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to find an automobile mechanic who can be trusted upon in case something goes wrong with it. When major maintenance is needed, do a little research and find the best servicing shop in your locality instead of just taking your vehicle to the first shop you come across.

There are a wide variety of shops that can be used for automobile maintenance. There are autonomous shops, quick service shops, car dealerships, auto body shops, and repair chains. However, the type of shop you should go for depends entirely upon the kind of service needed by you and the age of your vehicle.

- If you own a new automobile with an extended warranty, it is better to employ a local car dealership as most dealers have authentic, spare auto parts and trained professionals for the particular make and model of your vehicle.

- However, if all you need is something very small, such as an oil change, it is advisable to go to a quick service shop, which is a much cheaper alternative.

- On the other hand, if you feel your vehicle needs a more sophisticated servicing, you can get in touch with autonomous shops or repair stations.

After you have decided the kind of servicing you need for your vehicle, it is necessary to assess the professional who would finally be assigned the repairing work. Following are a few guidelines that would help you choose a reliable auto-repair mechanic:

1) It is said, "Prevention is better than cure". The same philosophy applies here as well. It is better to start your search for the best car mechanics in your area much before you need one. This can be done by taking your vehicle for routine servicing on a regular basis. Take your car to different service shops and get it serviced by different professional each time. This will help you contrast and compare all the options available and choose the best one among all.

2) Also, ask your friends, colleagues, and relative for their reviews of the different auto body shops, auto dealerships, and auto-repair mechanics in your locality. Word of mouth testimonials from friends and relatives are a great means to assess the shops and their staff.

3) You should also check the details of the professional you would be dealing with at the local chamber of commerce. Make sure they are professionally certified. This would help you avoid amateurish and untrained staff. After all, your car is an integral part of your life and surely deserves expert care.

4) Never base your final decision on the fee charged by an auto-repair shop. "The Cheaper, the Better" is a rule that should never be followed when it comes to choosing the best mechanic for your vehicle.

5) Make sure the service center you are targeting is well-organized and its staff well-mannered. Ask the mechanic if he has on-site from his past customers and if he would be using the most up-to-date equipment. Ask him as many questions as you wish in order to evaluate his knowledge.

Thus, with a little research and patience, you can easily find the best auto-servicing professional in your locality.

by Eshwarya Patel
ezinearticles.com

Water trouble

2009-04-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Elementary school students walk across their school’s flooded yard in Redang village in Indragiri Hulu regency, Riau, on Friday. Floods have hit 13 districts in the regency in the past week, submerging about 1,000 homes and 581 hectares of farm land.

On guard

2009-04-18T01:28:00.001-07:00

Thai soldiers stand guard at the Victory Monument in Bangkok ,Thailand, Saturday. Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has joined his political rivals in calling for reconciliation after the mob violence that bloodied Bangkok's streets, but some of his supporters are refusing to give up their struggle to topple Thailand's government.

Mending ties?

2009-04-18T01:27:00.001-07:00

President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez before the opening session of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday (Saturday in Jakarta).

Earth Day Underwater

2009-04-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume, right, accompanied by a guide, feeds sharks from the cage inside a tank at the Sea World during Earth Day celebrations in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday. The American ambassador led the Earth Day celebrations at the theme park, aimed at promoting the protection of Indonesia's rich underwater biodiversity. AP/Achmad Ibrahim

Practice in China

2009-04-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

The cars of McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and Ferrari Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Brazil, pass each other in pit lane during the third practice session for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, Saturday. The Chinese Grand Prix will be held at the circuit on Sunday.

Ade Kadarisman: Sukses Berkat Kekuatan Imajinasi Kita

2009-04-18T00:57:00.000-07:00

Sumber: Sukses Berkat Kekuatan Imajinasi oleh Anthony Dio Martin, Psikolog,
penulis buku best seller EQ Motivator, dan Managing
Director HR Excellency

SUKSES BERKAT KEKUATAN IMAJINASI

Teman-teman, jangan meremehkan imajinasi. Imajinasi bukanlah gambaran kosong atau angan-angan tanpa isi. Sejarah telah membuktikan banyak tokoh terkenal menjadi besar berkat imajinasinya yang luar biasa. Imajinasi ternyata mempunyai kekuatan. Albert Einstein pernah mengatakan, "Energi mengikuti imajinasi". Tentu saja, Einstein serius dengan ucapannya. Apalagi Einstein mengamini hukum kekekalan energi. Dia sendiri mengaku telah membuktikannya saat dia ditanya bagaimana dia mampu menghasilkan begitu banyak teori spektakuler, dia menjawab imajinasinyalah yang menjadi salah satu bahan bakar dari idenya itu.

Lantas, bagaimanakah imajinasi yang dihasilkan pikiran kita bekerja? Pada prinsipnya, perlu temen-teman sadari, pikiran kita adalah sebuah magnet yang luar biasa. Pikiran kita mampu menjadi otopilot atas apa yang ingin kita wujudkan, yang kita cita-citakan bahkan yang sekadar
kita imajinasikan. Setiap orang boleh mempunyai mimpi akan masa depan. Mimpi menjadi seorang penulis hebat, misalnya, atau menjadi sastrawan, insinyur, dokter, dan sebagainya. Dalam perwujudan mimpi inilah kekuatan imajinasi berperan. Sekali kita merencanakan dan mematrikan imajinasi dalam pikiran kita, fisik kita pun mulai mencari jalan bagaimana merealisasikan apa yang sudah kita pikirkan.Untuk mudahnya, pembaca, ada dua kisah tentang kekuatan imajinasi yang ingin saya ceritakan di sini. Pertama, kisah hidup Mayor James Nesmeth, seorang tentara yang doyan main golf. Dia begitu tergila-gila dengan golf. Tapi sayang sekali, sebelum menikmati kesempatan itu, dia ditugaskan ke Vietnam Utara.

Sungguh sial, saat di Vietnam dia ditangkap oleh tentara musuh dan dijebloskan ke penjara yang pengap dan sempit. Dia tidak diberi kesempatan untuk berinteraksi dengan siapa pun. Situasi pengap, kosong, dan beku itu sungguh menjadi siksaan fisik dan mental yang meletihkan baginya. Untungnya, Nesmeth sadar dirinya harus menjaga pikirannya agar tidak sinting. Dia mulai berlatih mental. Setiap hari, dengan imajinasinya, dia membayangkan dirinya berada di padang golf yang indah dan memainkan golf 18 hole. Dia berimajinasi secara detail. Dia melakukannya rata-rata empat jam sehari selama tujuh tahun.

Lantas, tujuh tahun kemudian, dia pun dibebaskan dari penjara. Namun, ada yang menarik saat dia mulai bermain golf kembali untuk pertama kalinya. Ternyata, Mayor James Nesmeth mampu mengurangi rata-rata 20 pukulan dari permainannya dulu. Orang-orang pun bertanya kepada siapa dia berlatih. Tentu saja, tidak dengan siapa pun. Yang jelas, dia hanya bermain dengan imajinasinya. Tetapi, ternyata itu berdampak pada hasil kemampuannya. Nah, inilah kekuatan imajinasi itu. Kisah kedua adalah cerita tentang Tara Holland, seorang gadis yang bermimpi menjadi Miss America sejak kecil. Pada 1994, dia berusaha menjajaki menjadi Miss Florida. Sayangnya, dia hanya menyabet runner-up pertama. Tahun berikutnya dia mencoba, tapi lagi-lagi hanya di posisi yang sama. Hati kecilnya mulai membisikkan dirinya untuk berhenti.

Bulatkan tekad Tapi, dia bangkit dan membulatkan tekadnya lagi. Dia pindah ke negara bagian lain, Kansas. Pada 1997, dia terpilih menjadi Miss Kansas. Dan di tahun yang sama, dia berhasil menjadi Miss America! Yang menarik, adalah saat Tara diwawancarai setelah kemenangannya, Tara menceritakan bagaimana dia sudah ingin menyerah setelah dua kali kalah di Florida. Tapi, tekadnya sudah bulat. Selama beberapa tahun kemudian, dia membeli video dan semua bahan yang bisa dipelajari tentang Miss Pagent, Miss Universe, Miss America, dan sebagainya. Dia melihatnya berkali-kali. Setiap kali melihat para diva meraih penghargaan tertinggi, Tara membayangkan dirinyalah yang menjadi pemenangnya.

Satu lagi yang menarik dari wawancaranya adalah saat dia ditanya apakah dia merasa canggung saat berjalan di atas karpet merah. Dengan mantap, Tara Holland menjawab, â€œTidak sama sekali. Anda mesti tahu saya sudah ribuan kali berjalan di atas panggung itu. "Seorang reporter menyela dan bertanya bagaimana mungkin dia sudah berjalan ribuan kali di panggung, ementara dia baru pertama kalinya mengikuti kontes. Tara menjawab, â€œSaya sudah berjalan ribuan kali di panggung itu" dalam pikiran saya.

Teman-teman, dua kisah nyata di atas menceritakan tentang kekuatan imajinasi. Kita memujudkan apa yang kita lihat dalam pikiran kita. Imajinasi adalah energi. Energi yang kalau diolah terus-menerus akan mewujud dalam apa yang kita imajinasikan itu.

Kekuasaan boleh memenjarakan fisik, membungkam mulut, tetapi sama sekali tidak bisa memasung imajinasi kita. Dengan kekuatan imajinasi, masa depan akan menjadi milik kita sesuai yang kita cita-citakan. Dengan imajinasi, kita bisa menjadi tuan atas takdir kita, I am the master of my fate. Stephen Covey dalam 7 Habits mengatakan kita membuat kreasi mental lebih dulu sebelum kreasi fisiknya. Semakin kuat gambaran mental yang kita miliki, semakin besar energi yang kita miliki untuk mewujudkannya. Sebaliknya, jika kita terlalu banyak membayangkan yang buruk dan negatif, kita menarik energi negatif dan kita semakin ter-demotivasi untuk meraihnya.

Pepatah Latin mengatakan, Fortis imaginatio generat casum, artinya imajinasi yang jelas menghasilkan kenyataan. Dengan demikian, jangan sia-siakan kekuatan imajinasi dalam diri kita. Imajinasi mampu menjadi kendaraan kita menuju apa saja yang kita mimpi dan cita-citakan.

Imajinasi akan mengumpulkan seluruh energi kita untuk mewujudkannya. Dalam aplikasi sehari-hari, dengan imajinasi, kita membayangkan hal-hal positif yang akan kita lakukan dan membayangkan hal-hal positif yang akan terjadi. Betapa kita akan melihat langkah dan tindakan kita mulai mengarah pada apa yang kita bayangkan. Danâ€¦the dreams will come true!

Sumber: Sukses Berkat Kekuatan Imajinasi oleh Anthony Dio Martin, Psikolog,
penulis buku best seller EQ Motivator, dan Managing
Director HR Excellency